England Meet New York
by Laura T
Summary: Flackcentric. Im new at this so please rate and review to let me know how I'm doing. There will be DL coming up i promise. I dont own the team but everyone else is mine lol
1. Rain

"Hey! You son of a bitch!" I screamed as I walked after the man that I had been in love with for years. "How can you do this to me? I moved to this dumbass city to be with you! And what? Now its over? Who is she?" I screamed at him. It was no use. He had already left in his Lexus. _Great! Just great. Now what am I supposed to do?_

Just then the rain came. It had been threatening to do it all day and now it was absolutely chucking it down. I have no coat and no umbrella. That's what I get for trusting a dumb ass like him. Ugh! I sighed in exasperation. Just then I realised, once all of my indignation had disappeared, that I was lost, wet and cold. Three things I really didn't need to be or want to be. _Bloody brilliant, just what I need_. _Ok, all I need to do is calm down and get my bearings_. I looked around helplessly. I hadn't been in the city long and I still didn't know my way around. As I had been standing here for about half an hour I realised that no cabs had passed by me. In a huge city you'd think there would a queue of cabs. But no. _Oh well, may as well try and walk home. But I have no idea where I am and I look like a drowned rat, which means I can't go back into the restaurant. _

I hadn't been walking far when someone said, "Excuse me miss?" I looked around and couldn't determine where the voice was coming from. Deciding it was all in my head I carried on. Shivering, I hadn't gone far when someone tapped on my shoulder. I froze. I was black belt in judo and was perfectly capable of kicking this person's ass but it had suddenly leaked out my brain.

"Miss?" it was that guy again. I turned around slowly. I was looking at a purple tie with lilac stripes. _Jesus this guy is tall_. I took a step back startled when he spoke again.

"Are you ok? You look a little lost?" this guy was about 6 ft 7 with dark hair. I looked at him suspiciously, before nodding. He had this calming affect on me for some reason. He tilted his head to the side "You have that deer trapped in headlights look. Not that you see many deer in these parts." He laughed I cracked a smile. "Yeh, I haven't been in New York long and I'm totally lost. My dumb ass ex-boyfriend has just left me here." Thinking back of the incident in the restaurant I began to shake with fury. He mistook it for shivering from the cold. He took off his overcoat and placed it round my shoulders. "Thanks." I smiled at him. "I don't suppose you could tell me how far I am from the police precinct could you? It's the only landmark I know." He laughed at me. "How is it the only landmark you know? Surely you know the Statue of Liberty?"

"Yeh, course I know that. Let me explain. It's the closest "landmark" (I used air quotes with my fingers) that's closest to my apartment. Its how I remember where things are."

"Ah right. I understand now. It must be a British thing. Anyway you're not that far. Just keep going down this street and turn left. Its just on the right hand side."

"Thank you. You've been a big help." I smiled and went to take his coat off now that I was warmer and not that far from home. He stopped me. "Keep the coat. Just turn it into the precinct in the morning." I smiled appreciatively said one more thank you and began walking. As I rounded the corner I looked back to see if he was still there but he had gone. I put my hands into the pockets and realised there was something in his pockets. As I reached my apartment, I pulled my keys out and went inside. Put the keys down and looked into the pockets.

I pulled out an NYPD badge. _Oh no! I've got a cops coat! What the hell am I gonna do? I don't even know his name how the hell am I supposed to give it back to him? Oh well looks like I'm gonna have to deal with it in the morning._ I put his badge next to my keys and went to bed.

Flack had just walked into his apartment when he realised that his badge was not attached to his belt like it normally is. _What the hell? Where did I put it this time?_ thinking back Flack realised that after his shift his badge had fallen off his belt again and that he couldn't be bothered to put it back on his belt just to lose it again. So he had put it into his coat pocket…_The British woman!! She has my badge. The captain is not gonna be happy about this. I'm gonna have to get another replacement. Oh well I'll just have to deal with it in the morning._

**The next morning:**

I stretched luxuriously after the night I had last night I had slept in. I glanced over at my clock and realised I hadn't actually slept in. all I had was a couple of hours. I'd been sleeping fitfully since I had arrived in New York and for some reason I couldn't get out of it. I had learned to accept it. I got up and dressed quickly. I walked to my kitchen and decided I would do some more sightseeing today so that I can actually find my way around easier. Not to mention look for a job. I saw that mans coat on the back of the sofa and decided that I would get it dry-cleaned before I returned it. I was on my way out when I saw the badge. Grabbing it I walked out and went to the station.

Taking a deep breath I walked in. it was a huge building, not like the little stations that you see in England. Then again everything was huge in New York. I walked up to the desk with the badge in hand.

"Excuse me?"

The clerk didn't even look up. I spoke a little louder "Excuse me!"

He shuffled in his seat before he looked at me. "Can I help you?"

When people ignore me I tend to get snappy, especially when I'm not sleeping.

"Yes you can help me. I found this last night" showing him the badge "and I thought it might belong to one of your officers. Who do I give it to?" He looked at me like I was mad.

"You honestly turning this in lady?" I looked at him exasperated.

"Yes, I thought that was obvious! Jesus are all cops this stupid? No it must just be you, coz if they were New York wouldn't be deemed the safest city in the world. Look can you just make sure the guy gets this?" I turned on my heel and walked out before he could even think of an answer.

Flack had just arrived at the station when the front desk officer shouted him over.

"Hey Flack! I think I got summit that belongs to you." Curious Flack walked over.

"What is it?"

"This lady came in this morning and dropped this in" he showed Flack his badge "she was in a terrible mood. It must have been too early for her." He chuckled to himself as he handed Flack his badge.

Flack smiled to himself and walked to his desk, for a busy day of policing.


	2. Dry Cleaning

In my wonderings of that early morning I realised I had passed a dry cleaning service, when I remembered that guy's jacket. _Crap! I was in such a fettle with that cop that I totally forgot to go back and get it. Right off I go to get it. Hopefully I can get it done and back to him before the day is out._ Going back to my apartment to pick up his coat, I was taking in all of the city streets so that I could find my way back. It only took me five minutes to get there, pick up the coat and get to the street with the dry cleaners on it. As I walked in, I felt really self-conscious. I walked up to the desk.

"Hi. Would it be possible for me get this dry cleaned by the end of the day?" I asked the assistant behind the counter.

"Certainly ma'am. That will be $10 for the express service. You can pick it by 4." She smiled at me.

"Thank you." I handed her the money and the coat and left. _Well that's one job done. At least I can get it back to him before the days out._ I wondered into central park and was in awe at how beautiful it all looked. To me it seemed like an out of context sort of place. Because it was right in the middle of the city and it just didn't look like it should be there. I looked at my watch. It was only 1pm. _What am I gonna do for 3 hours?_ Central Park was too big to go round in 3 hours so I went to the local supermarket and did some shopping. I had decided to go home and finish my unpacking not to mention rearrange my furniture. The job hunt could wait.

"Hey Flack you got a 419 out in central park! You need CSI."

"Ok boss. I'll ring on way over to CP." Flack sighed. _Great another murder in Central Park. Will this ever end? On second thoughts I hope it doesn't otherwise I would be out of a job. Oh well. The show must go on. Who said? Never mind._ Flack picked up his phone and dialled the crime lab.

"Mac."

"Hey Mac, its Flack. I need to send some of your people out to a 419 in Central Park."

"Ok Flack. I'll send Danny and Lindsey." They disconnected. Flack sighed. _Great those two. I congratulate them on their professionalism but they really need to get a room already. Its doin everyone's head in! There's bets going on and everything. It is kinda sweet though._

Flack had just arrived at the scene when Danny and Lindsey arrived with their kits.

"Hey Danny, Lindsey. How are you two this morning?"

"Flack man, I'm getting sick of all these bodies in the park. The alleys and the rivers I can cope with but not in the park. One of these days no kid is gonna wanna come here. Its depressing." Replied Danny. Danny had grown up in the Bronx and knew what it was like not to have a safe place to go to. He was about a foot shorter than Flack, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was a typical New York guy, accent and all.

"Hey Montana, you gonna start the overalls and what not?"

"Yeh Danny why not. Mornin Flack. How's you today?" asked Lindsey.

Danny had a habit of calling Lindsey Montana. He had done this since they had met almost a year ago. It was typical playground stuff. That would hopefully lead to more but for some reason she kept pulling away. Flack would often just stand and watch them interact. Some days it was funny some days not so funny. Today was gonna be one of those days where Flack just did the observation thing.

Ok I've finally unpacked the rest of my stuff and I have reorganised my furniture and I've sorted all my DVDs into the order that they should be in. Hell I've even watched a couple as I've been sorting and I still have an hour to kill before I have to pick up the coat. What to do now?

After idling around the apartment for what seemed like ages. The woman was busily wondering around as if she was nervous about something. For a smallish woman she did a lot of bustling about.

**One hour later:**

Ok so I've picked up his coat now all I have to do is go and give it back. Walking towards the station with coat in hand. She walked up the steps. Looking at the desk to see if it was still the same idiot as before. She groaned inwardly. Great it's Officer Moron again. She walked over and smiled.

"Hi."

"You again? What can I help you with now?"

"You can tell me who the badge belonged to." She smiled.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I can't do that."

Sighing, "Why not?"

"Because I'm not authorised to give you that information." He smiled smugly.

"Fine. I'll wait over here. Oh and for the record your really bad at lying." She walked over to the chairs and waited patiently. She didn't have to wait long.

Flack walked up the stairs when a voice sounded from the front desk.

"Hey Flack. Come 'ere a sec." Flack stopped and groaned.

"What can I do for you now?"

"Do you know this lady over there?" he pointed to the woman, who had stood up and was looking at the posters on the wall. Flack turned.

"No. Why?"

"Well she was the one who handed in your badge this morning. Claiming she had found it." He chuckled.

"Something funny officer?"

"No, no. Its just that I can spot a thief a mile away." He smiled knowingly.

"Really? Well ok. I think it would be best if I handled the situation from here on out."

"Ok. HEY LADY! The officer in question is right here."

She turned around. The officer who had saved her last night was indeed 6ft 7 and had dark hair. As he walked over she realised this his badge was hanging off his belt rather precariously. She grabbed the coat from the chair and walked over to meet him half way.


	3. Conversations and kidnapping

"Hi!" I smiled at him. "I, uh, brought this back for you." Handing him the coat. He took it and looked at it.

"Why is it wrapped in plastic?"

"Oh that. The reason why I didn't hand it in with your badge is because I had your coat dry-cleaned. When I was walking home a car came past me and soaked me. I didn't want to give it back to you dirty so I got it cleaned…" she trailed off. He was laughing at her.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. It's just that I've never seen anyone care so much about a stranger's coat. I'm Don Flack by the way." He held out his hand. As she went to shake his hand, his badge fell to the floor. They both scooped down to pick it up and banged heads.

"Ow." They said together looked at each other and laughed. She picked up his badge and stood up.

"There you go. Oh, I'm Laura by the way." Holding out her hand. He shook it and she realised that he had blue eyes.

"Could I possibly have my badge back ma'am?"

"Oh uh sorry. Here." She handed him his badge and turned her head away blushing. She had been staring at a total stranger. _Oh god! He caught me staring!_

"Anyways I, uh, just wanted to give you your coat back and say thank you very much for helping me last night. I, uh, I have to go. Thanks again." Smiling, she hurried out of the building towards her apartment. The last thing she remembered hearing was that dumbass cop behind the desk laughing.

_Where the hell am I? _Trying to turn her head Laura realised she couldn't. _Ok what the hell is going on? _Realising that her hands and feet were tied, _perfect. Who the hell would wanna kidnap me? I don't know anyone! Except for that cop but that doesn't count._

**Back at the station:**

"Flack. You got a possible kidnapping case, more than likely it's just a B and E. Get a CSI."

"Yes captain." Picking up his phone, he dialled Mac. "Hey Mac. I need a CSI at a B&E."

"Where?"

"The apartment block just down from the precinct."

"Ok. I'll be there in five minutes." They disconnected. _Good. That means I may actually be finished by the end of shift. _

**The apartment:**

"Hey Flack. This lady was one tidy person."

"What do you mean Mac?"

"Look at the way she organises her DVDs. Alphabetical order, unless they belong to a trilogy or a has a sequel. Take Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights. As you know K comes before N but in her collection, she's put Noon before Knights because that's the order that they came in. she's methodical. Her whole apartment is clean and tidy. All of her pictures are in a specific place. Nothing is out of place except for this." Mac pointed to a place on the floor.

"What is that?" asked Flack.

"That is boot print. Looks too big to be hers. Why don't you look around? See if you can find any photos of the vic?"

"Ok."

Flack began walking around the apartment looking at the photos. There was loads of a dog, but there wasn't a dog at the apartment. There were many of the family. Then he found one from a wedding.

"Uh Mac?"

"Yeh?"

"I've gone round every photo in this apartment. There is no photo of the vic. However I did find this one. It looks like a wedding photo. I'm thinking that this person here" he pointed "in the green dress is the vic."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well she's the only one who seems to fit the age. But I'm not entirely sure. Besides the rest of the photos are of the family and the dog and she only appears in this one."

"Well done detective, get this over to the crime lab and get Adam to age the photo by around 3 or 4 years. Take a reference from the mother as well."

"Why the mother?"

"Well if you look. At this age she already looks like her mother. So its safe to assume that she would age at the same pace."

"Oh ok. I'm on it." With that Flack left.

**At the lab:**

"Adam. Mac wants you to age this photo of the vic in the green dress."

"Ok. Gimmie a couple of hours."

"Ok. I'll go back to the apartment and ask the around. See if anybody saw anything."

Flack walked out the lab and went back to the apartment building.

**Two hours later:**

Flack had just finished talking to the neighbours. When his phone started ringing.

"Flack."

"I've done the photo alterations. I'll send it to your phone."

"Ok thanks Adam." They disconnected. A couple of minutes later his phone bleeped. Flack opened the message _Oh no. I'd better tell Mac._ Flack walked into the kitchen where he found Mac.

"Er Mac?"

"Yeh. What's up?"

"I've got the photo of the vic. There's one problem."

"What's that?"

"I know her."


	4. Escaping and collapsing

"Wakey, wakey. Rise and shine." He pushed Laura's head.

"Get the hell off me!" she screamed.

"Ooooh someone's feisty." She growled at him.

"What do you want? I'm new here I don't have any friends or relatives here. So what do you want?" she asked him. As he came closer, she kicked him hard in the shins. He let out a grunt.

"Now that wasn't very nice. You're going to pay for that." He took out a knife and stabbed her with it. She grimaced in pain but said nothing.

"Ooooh someone's a fighter. I wonder how often I have to stab you before you scream."

**Back at the apartment:**

"What do you mean you know her?" asked Mac.

"Well, I kinda met her last night. She was walking back home in the rain. I let her borrow my coat. She only gave it back a couple of hours ago."

"What do you remember about her?"

"She's about 5ft 5 or 6. Long brown hair and brown eyes. British. Erm that's all that I remember sorry Mac."

"No that's good. Do you know if she has any friends, relatives in the city?"

"Not that I'm aware of. She's new to the city."

"How do you know that?"

"She had that 'trapped in headlights' look when I first saw her." Mac nodded his head. Finding nothing else, they left and headed back to the station.

**Back at the warehouse:**

_How the hell am I gonna get out of here? I need to think of something. _ Pushing her legs against the floor she slid back in the chair until she hit the wall.

"What are you doing?" She shrugged. "Oh so its gonna be like that is it?" she shrugged again. "Fine you don't have to talk. I bet I can stay quiet longer than you."

She tilted her head to the side "You really think so?"

"Yeh I know so." She smiled and shrugged her shoulders again.

What he hadn't realised was that as he had been talking to her she had splintered the back of the chair slightly when she had pushed it back into the wall and was working on her bonds. _Come on please, please don't notice._ It didn't take long for the tape round her wrists to break apart. She smiled slightly.

"What are you grinning at you bitch?"

"Who me? Nothing, absolutely nothing." She smirked again.

"Why you little…" before he could finish she lunged at him and scratched him both hands in the eyes. She kicked him a couple more times before putting a strangle hold on him so that he was knocked unconscious. _Ok now all I have to do is get out._ Looking around, she noticed a small window near the ceiling. _Oh great I'd have to be a giant to get up there._ Looking around again. She noticed a door at the far end of the warehouse. Running to the bottom of the warehouse. She automatically tried the door, it didn't budge. _Damn its locked. _Grabbing the first thing that came to her hand she started to bang on the rusty door handle hoping that it would break. _Wow, I'm all dizzy. Crap, I really need to get to the hospital. _She banged on the door for a couple of more minutes until the lock eventually gave way. _Finally._ Running outside, she skidded to a halt. _Where the hell am I?_ She walked out towards the exit and began to wobble unsteadily on her feet. Once she got out onto the street, she stopped to gather her bearings. Grabbing her side she stumbled onwards. Stopping the next person that she saw "Excuse me. Could you tell me where the police precinct is from here?"

"Certainly. But I think you need a hospital first." The man moved to help her stand, she jumped back suddenly "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna help."

"Its not that. I'm covered in evidence which is why I need the police station before the hospital."

"Oh ok. Keep going down this road and then turn right, it's a couple hundred yards after the turning." She wandered down the road, staggering slightly as she went. She was leaving a blood trail.

**At the station:**

Stumbling into the station. She walked up to the desk "I need to see a detective. Right now." Before the cop could speak she collapsed onto the floor.

"I need a doctor and a detective." He said into the phone. He ran round the desk and began to press down on her wound. Flack and Mac came running to the front of the station.

"That's her. Mac that's her." Flack said pointing at her.


	5. Interviews and jobs

**The hospital:**

_Where the hell am I? _She tried to move. _Ooh that hurt. Won't be trying that again anytime soon. What the hell happened to me?_ She moved her head and saw a man sitting there. Sleeping. She grunted. The noise woke him up.

"Laura? Do you know where you are?"

She looked around "Judging from all the white in here its either a hospital where there are surgeons and what not or I'm in a nut house in which case I hope it's the first not the latter." She smiled.

"Ah you have a sense of humour. Well you will be pleased to know that you are in a hospital where you can leave with antibiotics or any other pharmaceutical grade pills that will probably knock you out for hours." He laughed "Laura, I need to ask you some questions if you don't mind."

"No problem. Flack, I warn you I may not remember some of it."

"That's no problem. Just tell me what you do remember. From the start."

"Ok" she took a deep breath "well I remember giving you your coat back, us talking, and then walking out of the precinct and walking towards my apartment. I got to my door opened the door and then nothing. It's a blank until I got into that warehouse place. Or at least that's what I think it was. I'm not too sure on that part. Then he said something; he called me feisty because I told him to get the hell away from me. I kicked him in the shins, and then he stabbed me as punishment. I didn't scream and he said I was a fighter. Wondered how often he would have to stab me before I did. I pushed the chair back to the wall, but the chair splintered, he didn't notice. I worked the bonds when they broke I grinned. He called me a bitch and he started to say something. Didn't quite manage it as I lunged at him. Kicked him and then put a strangle hold on him until he passed out and then I somehow got out. Then I was back at the station and that's all I remember. Sorry."

"Did you scratch him?"

"Yeh I think so I'm not entirely sure. Why?"

"When, you came round after you collapsed at the station you wouldn't let anyone touch your hands or nails. You kept mumbling about evidence and you wouldn't let anyone near you until you were processed. Clothes and all. You even hit me, Mac and every other person who tried to get you into the ambulance. We told Mac was a CSI you were a bit more co-operative once you found that out. Even managed to stay awake until it was done and then you passed out." He laughed. She turned her head and blushed.

"I, uh, don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. I kinda like it." He turned away. "So how did you know about forensics?"

"Are you flirting with me? Wanting to find out what my deal is?" she laughed.

"You could say that. Are you gonna answer my question?"

"I dunno. You may get intimidated." Seeing the looks on Flack's face she held up her hands in mock surrender "Okay, okay. I'm trained as a criminalist."

"Where did you learn to do a strangle hold?"

"Judo. I'm a black belt in it. Kinda of a pre-requisite for me to come here. The parents." As a way of explanation.

"Oh I see. Well then. Scared of you now." He laughed. "You got a job yet?"

She looked at him funny before answering.

"No. Why?"

He didn't answer "Listen I have to go but I will come in and check on you after shift if that's ok?"

"Yeh. That's fine. But could you do me a favour?"

"Name it."

"Could you bring proper food? If I remember correctly hospital food sucks." Seeing his luck she simply said "Appendix."

"Ah I see. See you later." With that he left. She smiled and tried to sleep.

**At the crime lab:**

"Hey Mac. Do you have any jobs going here?" Mac looked at him as if he had sprouted two more heads.

"Why?"

"I was just curious that was all." Mac looked at him. _He isn't buying it._

"Would this have something to do with the little British lady?"

"Maybe. She's a trained criminalist and she has a black belt in judo. We know she can look after herself and…" he'd been rambling when Mac held up his hand.

"I know she's a trained criminalist. I'm sure I can find a place for her here." He smiled. Looking at Flack's look of confusion.

"How did you know?"

"I watch people for a living. I notice things like that. Are you telling me you couldn't?"

"Well I was too busy trying to save her life than notice what she was trying to do. Not to mention not getting smacked in the face." He smiled at the memory.

"Well I noticed that she wouldn't give up until all of the evidence had been collected from her. Besides she's stubborn. That's a trait that I like in my detectives. Hence Danny, Lindsey and the rest of my team." He smiled. Flack walked away smiling, he turned back around "Thanks Mac. I owe you one."

"Tell her she starts next week. Monday morning bright and early." He called after Flack.

**End of shift:**

Flack stopped at a diner and picked up two hamburgers with everything and two small fries. He walked back to his SUV and drove to the hospital. I got to the reception desk, "Hi. I'm here to see Laura."

"Laura what?"

"Ah I'm not entirely sure. We only met last night." He laughed.

"Well I'm afraid I can't allow you in."

_Ok that's it. Time for brass pass time._ Flack dug into his pockets and flashed his badge.

"The lady in question. Had a stab wound to the left hand side? She's a very important witness to a crime. Are you going to let me in?"

"Why didn't you say so? Go on through. She's been moved onto a different ward. Room number 555."

"Thank you." Flack walked to the lift and went to the ward. Knocking on the door, he stuck his head in the doorway.

"Mind if I come in?"

"Well that depends." She replied. Flack had already walked into the room.

"Well what did you have in mind?"

"Did you bring food? And what's that behind your back?" she was suspicious now. She was trying to sit up and peer round his back.

"Well yes it is food. You do like hamburgers right? I also found you a job…" the look on her face was priceless.

"I'm sorry. Did I hear you right? You got me a job? How, how did you do that?"

"Yes you heard me right. I got you a job as a criminalist in the New York crime lab obviously. I have a friend." Her smile widened. It could have stretched the length of Broadway.

"Oh my god. How can I ever thank you? I don't know what to say. Your faith in me will not be put into question I swear." He smiled back at her. He put the food on the little tray and they began to eat.


	6. Hospitals and Back to the Future

**Back at the lab:**

"Stel did you follow that blood trail?"

"Yeh, I did. When I got to the warehouse there was no-one there and the door handle on the inside was beat to hell." Mac laughed. "Yeh sounds about right. Oh by the way, she's starting on Monday."

"What? She's starting on Monday? Why?"

"Well Flack asked me to hire her because she is actually trained as a criminalist."

"Flack huh? Hm interesting."

"Yeh tell me about it. But as long as she's good at what she does I really don't care. Was anyone at the warehouse?"

"No, he had obviously woken up by the time we arrived. So that means he's still on the loose."

"Well I'm sure Flack will take good care of her." They both burst out laughing.

**At the hospital:**

"Right if you just sign here and here your free to go back home." The nurse smiled and pointed at the lines where she needed to sign. Laura signed the papers and left. Walking stiffly out of the hospital. The stitches in her side were pulling ever so slightly. She called a taxi and went home. As she was getting into the taxi, Flack was walking into the hospital.

"Excuse me. Yeh hi. I'm here to see…" the nurse interrupted. "Laura right? You've just missed her. She checked herself out."

"She's done what?"

"She was going to stir crazy in here and she was driving us nuts as well as her doctor. She was constantly asking when she could go home. So her doctor told her that she could go but that she should really stay in for a few more days. But she wasn't having any of it. So she checked herself out and got some pills that she's gonna need."

"What pills is she on?"

"Erm very strong painkillers and some sedatives."

"Ok I understand the painkillers but why the sedatives?"

"She hasn't been sleeping since she arrived in New York four months ago. She told the doctor and he prescribed her some mild sedatives to take as a last resort if she couldn't sleep."

"Ok. Thanks for telling me." Flack walked out of the hospital and headed towards her apartment.

**Apartment:**

_What the hell is that noise?_ _All right, all right already. I'm coming!_ "All right, all right. I'm coming! Give me a second." Shuffling to the door, the banging was getting louder and louder.

"Can I help you?" she shouted as she opened the door. To her surprise she had opened the door to Flack.

"What the hell are you playing at?"

"Excuse me?"

"You checked yourself out! What the hell are you playing at?" he repeated again.

"Look I will explain. Why don't you come in?" she moved away from the door. Flack shrugged his shoulders and came in. "Well explain. I'm listening."

"Do you want a drink or anything?"

"No just start talking."

"Alright. I'm gonna get a drink." Seeing the look on his face she said. "Alright. Ok. I have this thing I'm not a big fan of hospitals. They creep me out especially since I spent a week in one and they wouldn't let me go home even though I was fine. So now I try to avoid them as a general rule. I don't mind visiting people in them but I don't like being the patient. Happy now?"

"That's it? That's your big explanation?"

"Yeh. That's why I checked out early. What is this really about?"

"You could have told me. I would have picked you up all you had to do was ask. Jesus." He sighed out loud. He had gotten up and not realised it. He sat back down. She was laughing.

"What?" she was still laughing "What?"

"Nothing. Its just…your cute when your angry." She was still laughing.

"Can I have that drink now?"

"Yeh what do you want?"

"What do you have?"

"Erm hang on." She walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboards and the fridge "Lets see, I have milk, OJ, and water. Sorry I haven't been shopping since I came home." She laughed.

"Erm I'll have OJ."

"Ok. Comin right up." She bent down and let out a squeal. "Ow! God damn it." Within seconds Flack was beside her.

"What's wrong? Is it your side?"

"Its nothing. Just my stitches pulled. Just need to take my painkillers and I'll be fine."

"You sure? You don't wanna go back to the hospital?" The look on her face told him the answer. "Ok I'll take that as a no."

"That's a no. Be right back. Just gonna go get them out of my room." She wandered into her room. Picked up her tablets and took two. _Well these are gonna take a while may as well watch a film._ "Hey do you wanna watch a film?" she called out.

"Yeh. Why not. What you got in mind?"

"You pick I'm not fussed." He looked at her quizzically.

"What's the pillow and blanket for?"

She looked down "Ah these. Well my tablets knock me out pretty much but I don't know how long they take to kick in. but I really don't know when they will so I thought I could put the pillow on the couch and then wrap up in the blanket, so that if I do fall asleep then I won't have to move if I get comfy."

"Ah that makes sense." She plodded over to the couch and put the pillow on the couch, while Flack picked the DVD. She groaned when she sat on the couch and pulled the blanket onto the couch.

"What did you pick?"

"Erm a classic." She raised her eyebrows. _I don't have any real classic, classics. But I have a couple that I would call classics._ "So what is it?" He held the box in front of her. She smiled. "Which one did you pick?"

"Part two. It's the best part." He smiled at her.

"Why don't you sit yourself on the couch with me and watch it then. However I am inclined to agree that two is the best part of the whole trilogy. I thought I was the only one that liked that part out instead of the first and third parts."

He laughed, "What's not to like about it? It has everything a movie needs. Special effects, granted old ones but still, a little bit of action and hover boards."

"Not to mention Michael J Fox."

"Yeah him too." They looked at each other and laughed. They sat and watched the movie in a comfortable silence. Her head slipped onto his shoulder by the time The Doc had come and told Marty and Jennifer had to go to the future with him. Flack looked down and smiled and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and she snuggled deeper into his shoulder.


	7. Silence

_Ow, ow. Oh Jesus Christ. That's really hurting._ She groaned. She shifted uncomfortably and sat up. Looked around and noticed that Flack had fallen asleep. She got up and pulled the blanket around him. As she did so he rolled over. She smiled, walked into her room and took a couple more painkillers before getting into bed and pulling the quilt around her.

**The morning:**

He woke up to sounds being made in the kitchen. He opened his eyes and didn't recognise where he was. _Where the hell am I? I haven't got a headache so I wasn't drinking last night._ He looked around _I don't have Back to the Future on DVD. Why am I still wearing my clothes and sleeping on the couch?_ Then a voice drifted in from the kitchen "Flack you want some breakfast or coffee?" He looked around.

"Erm can I have a coffee please?"

"Yeh. How strong?"

"The stronger the better. I hadn't realised I'd fallen asleep. I'm really sorry." He looked sheepish.

"Hey don't worry about it. I'm sorry that I fell asleep on you first. Do you have milk and sugar?"

"No just black please. I didn't mind I know how tired you are." He smiled at her and she turned away and blushed. "Crap! Is that really the time?"

"Uh. Yeh why?"

"I'm gonna be late for work. I need to go back to my apartment and have a shower. Will you be alright?"

"Yeh I should be. Do you want your coffee to go?" before he answered she put the coffee into a thermos. "Here you go."

"Thanks. I'll bring this back later." With that he walked to the door and left. She smiled and got dressed.

**One week later:**

_Ok take a deep breath. You're gonna be fine._ She walked up the steps towards the lift and waited for the lift to come down. She tapped her foot impatiently. She hated the first day on new jobs they were always so nerve wreaking.

"Hey Montana, where you goin huh? Come on we need to talk about this." A shortish woman with brown slightly curly hair was pushing the down button on the lift and was muttering under her breath "come on, come on". _Montana? What kind of name is that?_ "Hey. Will you at least look at me?" The man was about an inch or so bigger than Laura, he had blondish hair, and he had a thick New York accent. He also wore glasses. He had just caught up when the lift arrived. Laura walked into the lift and pushed the 52 button. Montana was still ignoring the man from outside when they all arrived on the 52nd floor of the building. Laura got out and just stood. She had no clue where to go. The couple were still arguing about something when they had exited the lift. _They really need to get a room._ She chuckled. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She spun round, what she saw was looking at a tall woman, with curly hair.

"Are you Laura?"

"Erm yeh I am. I'm new so I have no idea where I'm meant to be going or what I'm meant to be doing. All I have is a name."

"I'm Stella Bonesera. Who were you looking for?"

"Mac Taylor."

"Well Mac is on a case. I'm to show you around. Give you your badge, gun, introduce you to everybody and then we put you on a case. You're gonna be working with me. You ready?"

"Yeh I'm good to go." She followed Stella to the break room where the couple were still arguing. Stella laughed "Hey guys. I want you to meet the new recruit. Laura Turner this is Danny Messer and Lindsey Monroe."

"Hi. Nice to meet you both."

"So Turner where you from?" it was Danny asking the question.

"Newcastle. England."

"Hm. Sorry I gotta go. Come on Montana our results are in Trace." Danny and Lindsey got up and left. Lindsey smiled as she went past. Laura turned to Stella. "Are they together?" Stella laughed

"No. Not yet. But they should be. We have bets running if you want in."

"Yeh count me in. What's the running consensus?"

"Most people think that they will get together before Christmas. What do you think?"

"Well just a casual observation. But I think they already are together. But I think they will come out to the lab at New Year." Stella looked at her funny and walked out the break room.

"That was the break room. The room on the left is the Trace lab, and the one next too it is the AV lab. The morgue is down the stairs. Which is where we are headed now. Any questions?"

"Yeh. Where is everyone? It seems really quiet."

"They must be out on cases. Hawkes is with Mac and all the lab techs are around. Oh before we go I need to give you your gun and badge. Follow me." She walked towards an office that had everything made with glass.

"This is Mac's office." She went to the drawer and pulled out a gun and a badge and handed it to Laura. She turned it over and looked at the number and smiled.

"What?"

"Oh nothing my badge number is 5555. My favourite number is 5. So I should be able to remember it." She smiled. Just then Flack appeared. She turned and smiled

"Hey Flack. What you doin here?"

"I'm actually here to see you two. The vic that was shot has a brother. I've got him in interrogation. You wanna sit in?"

"Hang on you two know each other? Hm. Yeh we'll sit in."

**Interrogation room:**

"Mr Jones. Can you tell me the last time you saw your brother?" Laura was sitting next to Flack not saying anything. But she was looking at the brother. He was getting edgy. Flack noticed.

"Mr Jones. Can you answer my question please?" Mr Jones looked at Flack before replying.

"Does she have to look at me like that?"

"What?"

"Does she have to look at me like that? All quiet and what not." Flack turned to look at Laura. Who still hadn't said anything. Flack laughed. "Well as far as I'm concerned she's not doing anything wrong. So are you going to answer my question? When was the last time you saw your brother?"

"It was uh, a couple of days ago." He looked at Laura. Her expression had changed. "I swear." Flack looked at Stella and whispered in Laura's ear. "Me and Stel are gonna leave you just keep doin what your doin and see what happens. We'll just be behind the glass if you need us." Laura nodded understanding. Stella and Flack walked out.

"Hey where are you goin? You can't leave me here with her! Hey!" he screamed after them. He stood up and Laura never moved from her seated position. He turned to face her.

"Will you please say something?" Laura didn't speak. Behind the glass Stella turned to Flack. "Ok why are we leaving her in there on her own?"

"Look at the way he's reacting towards the fact that she ain't speaking."

"Yeh what about it. It's driving him crazy. Just wait and see. I gotta hunch. Trust me."

"Ok. I'll trust your gut for now. But if he starts to get violent we're goin back in deal?"

"Deal." He turned back to look into the room.

Laura had been sitting there not saying a word for the last five minutes and the suspect was getting more and more annoyed. Finally he cracked.

"Listen lady are you gonna speak at all? Coz the silence is really starting to get to me." She continued to look at him. He rolled his eyes "Ok if you wanna play it that way." He sat still for another five minutes before he spoke again. "Ok my brother and me had an argument the night he disappeared. But I swear I didn't kill him." she changed her head position. "Alright already! I killed him. You happy now?" she moved again. "You wanna know why right? Ok I'll tell you why. He was getting everything! And I mean everything! He didn't deserve it! He was a lazy lay about. I was the one that did all the work…" he ranted on for another five minutes before Flack and Stella came back in.

"Your under arrest for the murder of your brother. Take him down to booking." He turned to Laura "Nice one. How did you do that?"

"Do what?" she asked and winked at him before they left. Stella said "Not bad for your first interrogation. Where did you learn to do that?"

"Do what?"

"That a whole sitting still and just tipping your head slightly when you know they are lying."

"I don't know. I've been doing it since I was a kid. Could always tell when someone was lying to me. I also learned at an early age that people get uncomfortable when faced with silence and being stared at." She laughed. "Now what do we do?"

"Now we go to the break room and wait for another crime to take place."

"Ok. Lets go." They walked to the break room.


	8. It's all Greek to me

**Break room:**

Everyone was in the break room when they entered. Stella walked over to the coffee pot and refilled it.

"Do you want one Laura?"

"Erm no thanks. Don't like the stuff. Only drink it if I'm horribly tired and even then only as a last resort." She smiled.

"Oh this is Sheldon Hawkes." She pointed to a young man with dark hair and dark eyes.

"Hi."

"Hi. I'm Laura."

"Nice to meet you." Just then Danny and Lindsey came in. Arguing again. "Montana what has been up with you today? It's driving me crazy."

"Yeh well you've been driving me crazy since I got here but I live with it." She snapped back. Laura walked over to the couch and sat down. Hawkes started laughing and then stopped when he saw Lindsey's face. Just then Flack came in, saw Laura on the couch and sat down. "What ya doin?"

"I'm watching to see if my theory is right."

"What theory is that then?" he asked. She looked at him sneakily; she leaned in and whispered, "Well I think Danny and Lindsey are already dating. I'm tryin to find the evidence to back it up." She laughed. Flack turned to her "Hm. I like that theory." He turned and watched his friends when Mac came in. Stella came over and they began chatting. They were standing fairly close and whispered "σ' αγαπώ μωρό μου!" Mac replied with "Δεν βρέθηκαν λέξεις" Laura's jaw dropped. Flack noticed but Stella and Mac didn't. "What?"

"Eh what?" she turned to Flack "What made the jaw drop?"

"Oh nothing." She smiled and continued to watch Danny and Lindsey.

Flack didn't believe her. But didn't pursue the topic.

"Ok people. Lets get back to work." Mac turned to everyone. "Laura you got a scene on your own. Take Flack to be your guide. Stella and Danny you got another dead body in Manhattan, possible homicide. Hawkes and Lindsey you got a possible suicide. Just go over the scene and double check. Laura I will check up on you later. Ok off you go." They all went their separate ways and to they're various crime scenes.

**On the way to the crime scene:**

They were stuck in traffic and Flack was trying to find out what had made her jaw drop. "So come on. Are you gonna tell me? Or am I gonna have to ask Stella what she said?"

"Why so interested?"

"Because I don't understand a word of Greek but you apparently do. I wanna know what was said."

"Why? You must have a reason. Tell you what. If you tell me why and the real reason mind not some made up one. I will tell you what both of them said. Deal?"

"Ok. Deal." He took a deep breath before continuing "I think there's something goin on between Stella and Mac. Have done for ages but I don't have the evidence to back it up." He looked at her and smiled.

"So you have the same theory about Stella and Mac that I do about Danny and Lindsey?"

"Yeh. Pretty much. So what did she say to him?" he asked.

"I love you." _Did she just say what I think she said?_ He looked at her shocked. She turned to him and realised what he thought "Oh no. That's what Stella said to Mac. She said 'I love you.' Then he said 'I love you too.'" Seeing the confused look on his face "My parents live in Crete and they speak fluent Greek, I often used to hear them say that to each other. That's why my jaw dropped. They don't know I speak Greek so lets not tell them ok?"

"Ok. Your secret is safe with me." They had arrived at the crime scene and they got out. Laura grabbed her kit and followed Flack up the stairs to the scene.

She processed the scene quickly while Flack interviewed the neighbours. "Well what do you know? Nobody knows nothin'. What you got?"

"Well I got blood, a bullet casing, no bullet though so I'm thinking its still in the body, not mention lots of fibres and what not." She picked up the evidence and turned to Flack and said, "Well I'm done. Just need to get this stuff back to the lab. You done?"

"Yeh, I'm done. I'll give you a lift."

"Thanks. I'm ready when you are."

"Ok then. Lets go."

They left the apartment building and went back to the lab. Laura walked straight to the trace lab and handed in her evidence before walking back to the break room. Where she saw Stella sitting by herself.

"Hey Stella. You ok?" Stella looked up, "Hey Laura. Yeh I'm good. Just waiting to get my results from the trace lab so I thought I would just sit and get a drink while I waited." Stella laughed "Ah that's what I'm doin as well. So how's your first day going?"

"Not bad. I'm really enjoying it. Once I get my results, I can work a couple of hours on em and then go home and chill. What you doin tonight?"

"Oh not a lot. I'm just gonna go home and cook myself some tea. Watch the TV the usual." She laughed at this. The trace technician came into the break room "Laura? I got your results here."

"Ah. σας ευχαριστώ τα μέγιστα!" seeing the look on his face she said "Its thank you very much." She smiled at him. She turned and found Stella staring at her in horror.

"You…you speak Greek?" she stuttered. Laura turned and said "κομματάκι λιγουλάκι. My parents live in Crete. I'm not fluent or anything. Don't worry your secret is safe with me. I wont say a word." Stella visibly relaxed. "Anyways I'm off to spend the next couple of hours on this evidence. See you later Stella." Laura walked out of the break room.

**Two hours later:**

Flack knocked a wooden apartment door. _What am I doing here? I should go. What is she gonna say when she sees me here? What am I gonna say? Why isn't she answering?_ Flack shrugged his shoulders and left. As he was leaving his phone started ringing. He picked it up after the second ring "Flack."

"Hey Flack its Danny. Where are you?"

"Erm I'm about to get take out. Why? Where are you?"

"Oh. We decided to get a drink after work. You gonna come down?"

"Yeh why not? Where are you?"

"The usual. All of us are here. See you in a bit." Danny hung up the phone. Flack closed his and walked to the bar on the corner.

The bar was a just a little one, but the CSI's and Flack would sometimes go in there after work if it had been a particularly hard shift. Walking in, he was greeted by the barman. He said "Hey Flack. You want the usual?"

"Yeh that would be nice. Thanks man." Flack walked over to the loudest group of people in the whole place. Danny greeted him first.

"You got here fast. What did you do? Run round the world backwards?" he laughed at his own joke while everyone else just stared at him. "Move round people. Come on, come on. We haven't got all day." It was Danny again instructing people to move. A seat was made next to Laura. She smiled at him as he sat down "Hey. You ok?" she asked him. "Yeh. I'm good. Why?" She shook her head, "Nothin. No reason. Just curious." The night was going very well. Everyone was getting on really well. "Hey Turner you alright?" it was Danny asking the question. She snapped out of her daze, that she hadn't even realised she was in. "Yeh I'm good and how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"

"I'd say after around six months after you got here I started to call you it. So you've been telling me that every since." He laughed. Laura didn't say anything to that but rolled her eyes. Then a voice said

"Hey man, stop calling her that if she don't like it. Ok?" it was Flack. Danny just stared at him but saying "Ok Hooch. Will do." Flack just glowered at him. seeing the look that his best friend was giving him, Danny stopped smiling and gave him a significant look. Flack just shrugged his shoulders and didn't say anything else. It was past midnight when they all decided to go home. Flack stopped Laura and said "Do you want me to walk you home?" She shook her head "No its ok. I'm only round the corner. But thanks anyway." She smiled at him and said bye to everyone before she started to walk home. Danny hit Flack on the shoulder "Hey you can give me a lift if you want. Seeing as I know you weren't getting take out." He smiled. Flack shrugged his shoulders "Come on then. The car is in the back of the precinct. Lets go."

**Outside Danny's apartment:**

Danny turned to Flack "So you gonna tell me how long you've been in love with her?" Flack looked shocked at the question.

"In love with who?"

"Laura." Flack looked flabbergasted before answering.

"You think I'm in love with Laura. Are you kidding me? We're just friends."

"Yeh of course you are. Come on man, I know what it feels like." He laughed. "Ok if you say so Flack. But for the record I don't believe you." As he went to get out he said "Oh and for the record you should ask her out. Because from the way she was looking at you tonight, she's into you. A lot." With that he left and walked into his apartment building. _Oh my god. How does he do that? How do they all do that? I suppose that's what they're trained to do but that's not the point. They shouldn't interfere. _

**Two days later:**

"Hey Flack." Flack ignored the voice that had said his name. He carried on walking down towards Mac's office. _Hm. Maybe he didn't hear me. _She ran towards him and touched him on his arm. "Hey. You ok?"

"Yeh. I'm fine. Now if you don't mind I have to go and see Mac." With that he turned on his heel and left her standing there gob smacked. She turned and walked into the break room. _What the hell was all that about?_ Shaking her head, she looked up and say Lindsey sitting there eating her dinner. Lindsey looked up "Hey Laura. You ok?"

"Erm no. not really. Do you know what's up with Flack today?"

"No. He seems ok to me. Well he's not in a bad mood or anything. Well he wasn't an hour ago at least. Why do you ask?"

"Oh just that he hasn't been the nicest person to me in the last couple of days and I was wondering who had put the stick up his ass. That was all." She laughed. As Laura turned around she saw Flack coming out of Mac's office. She ran out of the break room and caught up with him.

"Flack? Can I ask you summit? Who shoved a stick up your ass? Have I done something to upset you?" He turned towards her and snapped "Nothing is wrong with me. Just stay outta my face and we'll get on fine."

She looked thunderous. _Wow she looks pissed._

"Fine if you want it that way. Have it your fuckin way." With that she stormed off towards Mac's office. She knocked on the door. Mac motioned her in.

"I don't want any cases where Detective Stick-up-his-ass is the primary. Is that ok?" she was being rude but she didn't care. Mac stood back in shock.

"Erm is everything ok? you seem pissed."

"That's because I am Mac. I'm sick of him. I've done fuck all to him and he's been in a foul mood with me since we all went out after work and I'm sick of it. Its not affecting my job before you ask but I cannot work with him if he's just gonna ignore me and not listen to me. So is this ok?"

"Yeh that's fine. As long as it won't affect your work."

"How's you and Stella?"

"Good. Erm how do you know?"

"It's all Greek to me." She replied with a smile and left leaving Mac in shock.


	9. Laura and Lauren

**Four months later:**

It had been a difficult shift and they were all in Barneys. They were all having a laugh. When Flack came in with a woman on his arm. Laura's face fell. Lindsey leaned over "I had no idea he was coming tonight. Danny must have invited him. I'll kill him when he gets here. I'm really sorry."

"Hey don't worry about it. I can cope. It's all good." She put a smile on her face and carried on chatting to Mac and Hawkes. They all moved round for Flack and the new woman. Laura looked over the woman, she was taller than her by about an inch without the heels, she had brown hair and, from what she can tell, brown eyes. She was hanging off Flack's every word. _Could she be any more pathetic? Ugh, I thought he had taste, apparently not._ Danny had just come in and was looking at Flack in a strange way. It was Mac who broke the silence.

"So Flack you gonna tell us this lady's name?"

"Oh right. Sorry guys. Everyone this is Lauren, Lauren this is everyone." She smiled at everyone and then stopped when she saw Laura. She stared; Laura took the challenge and didn't drop her stare either. Lauren broke the silence "So who are you?"

"Laura. What's it to you?" Lauren turned to Flack and whispered something and they both started laughing. Blood boiling Laura stood up.

"Shift." Lauren didn't move. Laura took a deep breath and repeated herself through gritted teeth "Shift."

"What's the magic word sugar?" she replied in her thick New York accent.

"How does this sound? If you don't shift now I will break all your fingers?" Laura replied with a smile. Seeing that she meant business Lauren moved. Laura walked past her and added "Oh and call me sugar one more time and I'll break your fingers anyway." She walked over to the bar and ordered a drink. She was just about to order another one when someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was Lindsey. "Hey you ok?"

"Yeh I'm not to bad. I just needed a couple of stronger drinks before I came back over to deal with 'sugar' over there." They looked at each other and laughed. "If it's any consolation no-one is happy with Flack. I can tell." Lindsey added. Laura shrugged her shoulders, downed the rest of her drink and turned to Lindsey saying "Well lets go and see if she calls me sugar." They were still laughing when they got back to the table. Lauren had moved into her seat next to Mac. Laura looked at her, "Your in my seat." Lauren looked at her ready to say something when Flack said, "You can have your seat. We were just about to go. Come on Lauren." They got up and left and Laura slid back into her seat. She looked over at Danny who was still in state of shock at Flack's sudden attitude adjustment.

**The next day:**

"Montana. Montana I need to talk to you about something."

"What's up Danny?"

"Flack." Lindsey rolled her eyes "What about him? You do realise that he was awful to Laura last night. She hasn't a clue why he was being mean to her in the first place. And who was the bitch that he brought with him last night? You ever see her before? Another question that I have for you is…" she stopped when she realised that Danny had gone bright red. "You know something! Spill it!"

"Alright, alright but not here. I don't wanna be overheard. Besides I don't think your gonna like what I've done."

"Ok let's go." They walked out of the crime lab and went to a nearby diner to get something to eat. Once they had ordered they sat down and Lindsey turned her attention to Danny. "Spill it."

"Ok. Well it was the night that I first called Flack Hooch. You remember?" Lindsey nodded her head "Yeh what about it?"

"Well he drove me home, and I kinda said something that I probably shouldn't have said. I told him that he was in love with Laura. He completely denied it, but I told him that she liked him and that he should go for it. He went AWOL with her the following day." He looked sheepish as Danny stared at him in utter disbelief.

"You…you caused all of this? I can't believe you! You had no right to stick your nose in their business. Everyone knew how they felt about each other but we all agreed that it was best to leave them alone. Jesus Christ! You are so thick sometimes. Just look at what's happened now. He's with some freak that bizarrely looks like Laura with a similar name, I might add. You have to fix this since you were the one that broke it in the first place." After her speech she left him sitting at the table. _I have to tell Stella what's happened. Do I tell Laura? I'll ask Stella._ Once Lindsey got back to the crime lab she went straight to the break room, and found Stella. She explained what Danny had done and when she was finished she was out of breath. "What do I do?" Stella was silent for a few minutes.

"We don't tell anyone. Wait and see how Danny fixes this, if he can." She added.

Laura was walking back to her apartment when she had the uneasy sense of being followed. She'd had this feeling for a few weeks but she hadn't been sleeping again. So she put it down to that. Work had been hectic and the tension that was going around the lab was palpable. She was sure she wasn't adding to it but she certainly wasn't taking it away. Especially when Flack was around. She still really liked him although she would never tell anyone. Hurrying up the steps to her apartment, she unlocked her door and steps in. _Ok I'm gonna have a bath and chill in front of the TV._ She walked into her bathroom and began running the bath when she heard her door. Groaning she walked to the door and opened it.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. The uninvited guest stormed into her apartment, walked into the living room and rummaged around in her bag before pulling out a gun. Laura looked at it then at her, tipped her head to the side and said, "You have got to be fucking joking. You won't fire that."

"How do you know? Bitch?"

"Well even if you do, it won't work." She laughed smugly.

"Yes I know I haven't taken the safety off yet. But I want to talk to you first."

"Oh yeh? What about?" Suddenly the woman shot Laura in the stomach. Laura looked down "What the…"

"On second thoughts never mind. As of right now, I have everything in your life. Including Flack. He's gonna be so distraught when he finds out your dead and he's going to come running into my arms. Of course I'll be there to comfort him. Bye bye now." With that Lauren walked out of the apartment leaving Laura for dead. She forgot one small thing. The bath was still running and Laura fell into unconsciousness.

**Six hours later:**

_Jesus Christ! Ok this is really hurting and I'm lying in a pool of own blood. Do not give up. Someone will find you! But will they find you in time? Yes of course they will. Someone is bound to have called the super about the water leaking through the ceiling for crying out loud._ Then everything went black.

At the lab, Mac was pacing in his office. He had just received a phone call from the apartment super where Laura lived. Someone had told him that water was dripping from the ceiling, in the apartment above them. However this water was a funny colour, it was red. Now this wasn't all that unusual apart from the fact that it smelled like iron. Worried the super had gone upstairs and knocked on the door, no answer, so he used his key to get in. The whole apartment was flooded. He had walked into the bathroom and turned the water off, walked out and proceed to check the apartment. When he had walked into the living room he had found her. Unconscious and bleeding heavily. He called for an ambulance and had then called Mac as he was listed as an emergency contact in case something had happened. Mac remembered her coming to him, not long after she had started the job and asked him if she could use him as an emergency contact seeing as she didn't have anyone else in the city. He had agreed. She had then joked that this would also come in handy in case she had been murdered and that he would know where the crime had been committed. They had both laughed at this. Now it was looking more and more like she had been right. The super was now telling Mac which hospital she had gone too and that it was touch and go whether or not she would make it. Mac hung up the phone. He walked over to the speaker and requested all of his CSI's to come to his office.

They all trudged in one by one. When they were all there, Mac explained the situation.

"Now, we have a crime scene to process. But any evidence maybe contaminated because of the water. Who wants it?" Mac ever the professional. Lindsey and Stella both shook their heads, they wanted to go to the hospital, and they would process Laura's clothes and wait for news.

"I'll do it." It was Danny who spoke, then he looked up, "Who's gonna tell Flack? One of us should do it before he finds out from the primary who's gonna be handling it."

"He's not on duty tonight. But I will ring him and join you at the crime scene once I'm done. Hawkes I want you with Stella and Lindsey just in case the person who did this decides to take another shot at her. Also if the media gets involved, which they will sooner or later, I will handle it. None of you are to talk to the media. For now, lets treat this like a homicide. Let's go."

Flacks apartment: 

He was wondering aimlessly around his apartment when there was a knock on his door. Sighing he went to the door and opened it, "What are you doing here?" Lauren spoke "Well is that anyway to greet your girlfriend?" Flack shook his head "How many times do I have to tell you? You are not my girlfriend you never were! Can you just leave me alone?" he said nastily he was about to shut the door when his phone rang. He walked back into his apartment and picked up his phone "Flack."

"Hey Flack, it's Mac. Listen I got some news that you're not gonna like. You may wanna sit down." Flack was pacing his floor and hadn't realised that Lauren had wondered into his apartment.

"What's happened Mac?"

"Its Laura. She's been shot in her apartment. She's at New York general. Do you want a lift?"

"How the hell did that happen?" Lauren made a noise.

"What was that?" Flack pulled the phone away from his ear and said

"Lauren get the hell out of my apartment!" he turned his attention back to the phone "Sorry Mac. Lauren was just leaving."

"How long has she been there?"

"She just arrived before you rang. Why?"

"I want you to say something about her being dead and watch her reaction."

"What do you mean she's dead? You've just said she was at the hospital? Oh Lindsey just told you. God damn it Mac. Are there any leads? At all?" Lauren had been listening intently at the sound of Flack saying that Laura was dead she had smiled slightly. It hadn't gone unnoticed by Flack.

"What has she done?"

"Erm, I'm on my way. I wanna help. Yes I know it's my day off but I wanna get the scumbag that killed her." That said Flack hung up the phone and turned to Lauren. "What are you still doing here? Get the hell out! NOW!" he took hold of her arm and pushed her out. Lauren spun round and spat at him "You are gonna regret doing that. I swear you will." Flack laughed at her and slammed the door in her face. He went round his apartment grabbing his department issue gun and badge; as of right now he was on duty. He was going to the hospital to protect the woman he loved and he would stay there until she was safe back in her own apartment.

**At the crime lab:**

Flack rushed into Mac's office but he wasn't there. "Where is he? Where is he?" he ran round the lab and couldn't find anyone that resembled his CSI team. "Where the hell are they?" he looked round one more time and left for her apartment.

**Laura's apartment:**

"Mac! Mac, have you found anything?"

"No nothing relating to the case except that her super is an idiot." Seeing the puzzled look on Flack's face he explained "It's not flooded at all. It's just a couple of inches of water in the bedroom and her bathroom is knackered. But it has nothing to do with the crime scene. Which is the living room. You been to the hospital yet?"

"No not yet. Wanted to see if there was any evidence so that I can go and hunt down the scumbag that did this."

"Well there's nothing probative. I'll let you know when I find out something. Get to the hospital." Not needing to be told twice Flack left.


	10. Go to Hell

**At the hospital:**

Flack walked to the reception desk and flashed his badge "Can you tell me where I can find Laura Turner's room?" The nurse looked at him and tapped on her computer. "She's still in surgery. However a couple of your detectives are in the visitor room down the hall. First right." He smiled and left the nurse to deal with the other patients. Running down the hall, Flack found the rest of the team.

"Is there any news? What have you found out?" he looked round the group. Neither said anything to him. Exasperated Flack turned to them and said, "Look. I'm really sorry about what I did to her but I cannot change it. It's all in the past. Now all I want to do is get her to be my friend again and then we can take it from there. I can see why she's pissed but what's your excuse? You're meant to be objective for crying out loud! God damn it. I swear I will make it up to her but I have to catch the son of a bitch that did this. To do that I'm gonna need your help." He looked around the group pleading. It was Danny who spoke first "Alright, alright you big softie. All we know is that there was another woman in the room when she was shot. She has a smallish foot and wears heels. We know the prints don't belong to Laura as well let's face it she never wears heels. Hey what's wrong? Flack?" But Flack was already out the door, and running towards the exit. _That bitch! I cannot believe she would do that._ He jumped into his SUV and gunned the engine. He sped down the street to Lauren's apartment. He radioed the precinct before he went in.

**Lauren's apartment:**

Flack walked up to the door and knocked. _What the hell am I gonna say to her? 'Hi, you tried to kill the woman I love and now I'm here to arrest your sorry ass.' That would not go down well. I need to think of something different. Ah too late._ Lauren had just opened the door "What are you doin here?" Flack put on his best smile and said "I came here to apologise and thank you." She looked surprised

"Thank me for what sugar?" Inwardly Flack grimaced. He hated being called 'sugar' but he said nothing about it.

"You know. Taking care of my little problem. What can I do to prove it to you?"

"You can come in and tell me all about it. Well the bits you know."

"Ok on the condition that you tell me how it started, up until you know, then I can tell you how the investigation is going. And you never know I might be able to compromise some evidence or make it disappear altogether should they find any that relates to you of course." He smiled again and waited. She waited a bit before replying and taking a deep breath; she started her story "Ok. Well I originally went over there to talk to her, and I do mean just to talk. But when she answered I took one look at her and I wanted to snap her neck. But I refrained" she paused and smiled slightly before continuing "I pushed myself into her apartment and pulled out the gun. She looked at me and she laughed at me!! Well after that I saw red and I shot her with it. The look on her face was priceless." She stopped there, she was clearly enjoying recapping her story, she then added, "So what do you know?" It was now Flack's turn to say something. He took a steadying breath before he answered her "Well, they've found some shoe prints. Obviously a woman's and they also found the shell casing. But that was it. You were very clever not to mention careful. The shoe prints could match to any number of shoes and as long as you get rid of the shoes and gun that you used there is nothing connecting you to her murder." She pouted, "But I like those shoes. They're my favourite. Do I have to throw them away?"

"Yes you do. From now on you and I are not to be seen together. I will call you, not the other way around. Just to be on the safe side. I will call you if there are any developments in the case. Do you understand?"

"Yes I understand but I don't like it. I killed her so that we could be together all the time."

"We will be. Once this has all been blown over." He took her hand and smiled "I promise." He lightly kissed her on the head and nearly gagged. He pulled away and walked to the door, "I'll call you in a couple of hours." With that he left and went back to his SUV. _Ugh. I'm gonna get that bitch, but first I have to get to the hospital._

**Back at the hospital:**

Lindsey and Danny were sitting next to each other and whispering quietly when Flack walked into the room. He was in a foul mood.

"That bitch!" Stella had just walked in the door and looked shocked "Who me?" Flack jumped "No not you. Lauren. She was the one that shot Laura." He hung his head, and shook it. Danny, Lindsey and Stella started laughing

"We already knew that Flack. We were gonna tell you but ran out before we could. So what are we gonna do about it?"

"Well she thinks Laura's dead. She also thinks that I'm gonna sabotage the investigation. How the hell are we gonna get her to confess?" he asked wearily. Just then the doctor came in "Hi. Are you here for a Miss Laura Turner?" they all nodded. "How is she?"

"She's gonna be ok. She is going to need lots of rest and no stress. She has to rest for at least 4 weeks. The bullet really did a number on her insides but with medication she should be fine." He smiled at them "Is she awake yet?" "No not yet. But she will be soon and then you can all go in and see her. Just don't ask her any questions until she is ready." With that said he walked out.

**A few hours later:**

The doctor came back in and announced that Laura was awake and that they could go in and see her. They all walked out but Flack hung back, Stella noticed and asked "You not comin'? Thought you would be the first one out the door." She smiled and realised that he was looking pensive "Let me guess. Your feeling guilty because you were the one that brought Lauren to Barney's right. So you feel responsible for what happened and you think she won't forgive you for being an idiot? Am I close?" Flack nodded "Yeh in a nutshell."

"Flack, I've known Laura for a while now and I don't honestly believe that she would hold a grudge. Especially seeing as it wasn't actually your fault for being male. All you have to do is apologise and hope that she wants to be your friend."

"I don't just wanna be her friend I love her." Shocked at his revelation he blushed.

"Flack, you may have to slow down a bit there. I know she felt the same way but you weren't exactly the nicest person to her. You just have to start your relationship from scratch and see what happens. You have to let her be in control of what happens. You have to be patient, can you do that?" she asked. Flack nodded and Stella said "You comin' then?" Flack nodded again and he followed her out.

**Laura's room. Two days later:**

_Ow, ow. Jesus Christ what am I doing back in here? Oh yeh now I remember that bitch shot me._ As she looked around she saw Danny, Lindsey and Stella. She smiled weakly and said "Hey guys. How are you?"

"We're fine. How are you?"

"Just peachy. Where is everyone?" They looked uncomfortable before replying "Well Flack is avoiding you, Mac is working your case with Hawkes and we're just sitting here talking to you." Danny answered. She groaned, "Please tell you have that psycho bitch locked up."

"Well it's a bit more complicated than that."

"How is it complicated?"

"Well we haven't actually arrested her yet. There is a plan in motion, Flack has told her that you're dead and she seems very happy."

"What's the plan then?"

"Well she thinks Flack is going to contaminate or destroy the evidence or something. When in actual fact he isn't. We're gonna leak it to the press that your in a coma and hope that she comes for a second shot at you then we can actually get the bitch for attempted and premeditated murder." Stella smiled.

"Okay. I think I understand that logic. Please tell you have a Madam Tussads around here." She smiled. Everyone looked confused. She explained, "It's a wax work place. They make dummies that actually look real but they obviously aren't real."

"Ah I see. No we don't have that but we do have someone making a replica of you so that we don't actually put you in any danger."

"Ah that's good to hear. So when am I getting out of here? I'm going nuts already."

"Tomorrow. Mac has booked you into a hotel until your apartment is all fixed and what not." Danny said.

"Ok thanks guys. Listen I'm really sorry but I'm really tired. Would you guys mind leaving?" she looked sheepish.

"No. That's fine. We'll pick you up and don't even think of checking out early coz we have given the hospital staff that under no uncertain terms are they to let you out and if you try they have to sedate you."

"Wow. You guys thought a head. I wasn't planning on leaving, I promise. I just want to sleep I swear." She laughed and said bye before they left.

**Two hours later:**

Laura was tossing and turning in her sleep. She let out a groan when she realised she had rolled to far. She looked around and saw that Flack was asleep in the chair next to her bed. He stirred slightly and she pretended to be asleep. Flack woke up suddenly and looked at Laura. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep. He stood up and stretched and looked at his watch it was 3am. He groaned silently. _I have to tell her how I feel. If she's asleep then she won't be able to hear me and at least I would have told her._ He leaned forward and whispered in her ear "I love you." She moved slightly and said quietly "Flack?" He jumped back in surprise. Before he could say anything she opened her eyes and said "Go to hell." She turned her face away from him, he didn't say anything, sighed and left the little room. Turning her face back to where he had been standing, she had tears running down her cheeks. That night Laura cried herself to sleep.

_Stella was wrong. She does hate me. I don't blame her either. _He walked back to his SUV and went home. Tomorrow it would all be over, but he felt like his heart had been broken into a million pieces. He walked into his apartment and slammed the door. Playing double agent had taken toll on all of his faculties. He flopped onto his bed and slept fitfully.


	11. Punched

**The next day:**

Laura was already to leave by the time Stella had arrived to take her to the hotel. "Ready to go?" she asked laughing.

"Yeh you could say that. I've already signed the papers all I need now is to pick up my meds and then we can go."

"Ok then let's go." Laura walked gingerly out of her room and proceeded to the reception desk "Excuse me? You got my meds? I want out of here ASAP." The nurse handed her the medication, Laura said thank you and left with Stella. In Stella's SUV, Laura was quiet and withdrawn, this didn't go unnoticed by Stella. "You ok Laura?" Laura nodded "Yeh, I'm good. Just tired." She gave Stella a weak smile and continued to stare out the window. They arrived at the hotel. Laura turned to her "Thanks for the ride Stella. I'm gonna check in and get some sleep I think."

"Ok. The room is under Jennifer McFly. Mac has already paid for it, so you're here for a couple of weeks. I'll see you later." Laura smiled said thanks and walked into the hotel.

"Hi. I'm Jennifer McFly. I'm here to check in." she gave her best smile to the receptionist. The receptionist replied "Ok Miss McFly. If you don't mind I have instructions to ring my manager when you arrive."

"That's fine I'll just wait here." She had a suspicion Mac and the manager had had a conversation regarding her. Just then a tall, dark haired man walked up to the desk and was asking if there was any more rooms available.

"Yes sir. There is room 554. Would you like that one?"

"Yes please."

"How long would you like the room for sir?"

"Two weeks."

"What's the name sir?"

"John Shepperd."

A hand tapped her on the shoulder "Miss Jennifer McFly?" she jumped.

"Yes?"

"I'm the manager of this hotel. Please follow me." Laura grabbed her bags and smiled at the receptionist "Thank you." She turned and noticed the man staring at her; she shrugged her shoulders and smiled before following the manager. She followed the manager to his office, he offered her a seat and she took it gratefully.

"Miss McFly, as I understand it you are in some sort of danger. Is that correct?"

"Yes that's correct. However the danger will have passed after today. I will only be here until my apartment is back to being liveable again."

"Ah yes. Your supervisor told me of the story. I will ring him and tell him that you have settled in nicely and that you arrived here safely. I will take you to your room." She stopped him "That's not necessary. Just tell me which room I'm in and I will get myself there. Thank you for the consideration though." She smiled again and the manager replied, "You are in room 555. Here is your key and I hope you have a pleasant stay." Laura said thank you again and left.

Up in her room, Laura took two of her pain pills and a sedative, walking gingerly towards the bed. Laura lay down and let the sedative take affect. Next-door John was pacing his room, bored. Finally giving in he decided to go down for dinner and maybe a drink afterwards.

Laura awoke with a start. She had been having nightmares again. She looked at her watch and groaned "Two hours? Is that it?" she asked the empty room. _I thought sedatives were meant to knock you out for at least 12. They might be faulty._ She chuckled to herself _Faulty sedatives?_ Groaning she walked to the bathroom and decided to have a shower, then go down for something to eat. She allowed the hot water to pretty much scald her body. It was nice and refreshing though. She washed her hair and body and stepped out. Towelling herself dry she inspected her wound and changed the dressing. She put on some fresh clothes, grabbed her bag and money and walked out the door.

_Ok I know it's around here somewhere. I saw it when I came in. Where the hell is it?_ She wandered around for a few more minutes, sighing she went to the reception desk "Excuse me. Can you tell me where the bookshop is? I know I saw one when I was walking towards the managers office."

"Yes miss. Its just down that hall and to the left." She smiled and went on with her duties. Laura walked away and went to the bookshop. After browsing through the books, finally choosing one she walked up to the desk and paid for it. Walking out the bookshop she went towards the bar and ordered lemonade. Annoyed she couldn't have something stronger she walked over to the table in the corner out the way and pulled out her book.

John walked to the bar and ordered a beer. Seeing the woman from reception earlier he walked over to where she was sitting. He took a deep breath "Excuse me? Do you mind if I join you?" she looked up "Yeh feel free." She put down her book and looked at him. He was tall, which she already knew, he also had brown eyes, which she didn't already know, and his hair was all mussed up. It looked good on him. He was looking at her funny "Do I have something on my face?" she shook her head "I'm sorry. What?" he laughed "Do I have something on my face?"

"Oh no. I'm sorry for staring. I'm Laura by the way."

"John. Didn't I hear the manager call you Jennifer McFly?" she blushed before replying, "Yes you did. As you may have guessed that's not my real name. My real name is Laura."

"What's with all the cloak and dagger?"

"Someone's trying to kill me. Trying and failed." She laughed and he joined in.

"So who chose the name?"

"My boss. My favourite film is Back to the Future part two, I guess he got the name from that." She laughed.

"Ah I see. That's a brilliant film. Who wouldn't want a DeLorean like that one."

"I want a hoverboard. Have done since I was a kid. Not to mention Michael J Fox." She blushed slightly. They carried on talking about films for a while, laughing and joking together.

"So what do you do for someone to kill you?" John asked.

"I'm a NYPD CSI. One of the detectives that I work with, his ex doesn't like me for some reason. What do you do?"

"I'm a colonel in the USAF." He laughed at her "What?"

"Oh nothing. I have a thing for men in uniform." She laughed and blushed again. "What do you do?"

"I'm a pilot of sorts."

"Of sorts? What does that mean?"

"Well I fly helicopters, X-302's, and I have my own little four man team that I lead on, sometimes very dangerous missions." She was looking really interested "What kind of dangerous missions?"

"I'm sorry. But I can't tell you. If I did I would have to shoot you." She pulled her head back and said "Ah. I see. Is this the whole top secret Stargate missions that aren't so secret anymore?" she laughed when she saw his face.

"How, how did you know about that?" he stuttered. She laughed some more "The Stargate programme went public about a year ago. But if you didn't know that I'm guessing you were in Atlantis."

"Yes I was. Wow it is such a relief to be able to talk to someone about it outside the air force." He suddenly looked upset about something. Laura recognised that look, she had been wearing the same one on her own face for the last few months. "What's her name?" she asked.

"What?" he asked startled.

"What's her name?"

"Teyla. She's on my team back on Atlantis."

"Let me guess. You're in love with her, but you don't know how to tell her or whether she feels the same way right?"

"How do you know that?"

"Women's intuition. Also I recognise the look. I've been wearing that look myself for the last few months. What's holding you back from asking her out?"

"It's complicated."

"Well how? Is she military?"

"Not exactly."

"Well what's stopping you? Its not like you have to answer for your actions. You are billions of light years away in another galaxy for god's sake. Besides she isn't of earth military classification so there's no what's it called?" "Regulations?" "Yeh that will do. Regulations or rules to stop the two of you being together. So what's stopping you?" When he didn't answer she said, "You're afraid of rejection aren't you?"

"Yeh just a little bit. Wouldn't you be?"

"How do you think I wound up in this mess? I was afraid to tell the man I love that I loved him. Then he got with this psycho person that then tried to kill me. Trust me John. You have to tell her. Then at least you will have told her and you wont be moping around for the rest of your life. You'll know that you would have told her. Besides you never know she may feel the same way. Its worth trying otherwise life isn't worth living. Besides you never know the Wraith may end up killing one of you. Then what? You'll would never have told her how you feel, and you'll always be wondering what if. Is it really worth losing the woman you love because of a fear of rejection?"

"You always this pushy? Ever taken your own advice?"

"Not always. I can be pushy sometimes. It's too late for me to take my own advice." She sighed heavily. Sensing her pain he changed the subject. They talked for a couple of more hours like they had been friends for years. Looking at her watch she said "Christ it's late. I'm sorry John but I think I'd better go back upstairs and take some more pain medication. It was nice talking to you." She smiled and stood up with great difficulty. "Let me walk you back to your room. Looks like you could use the help." He smiled back at her and they walked back to their rooms."

**Two weeks later:**

Laura walked up to the lift in the crime lab. Stella had asked her to meet her for lunch. She reached the fifty-second floor and found Stella waiting for her smiling she said "Hi Stel. You ok?"

"Yeh I'm good. Flack told me what you said." Laura hung her head in shame.

"I was angry. But I was actually gonna talk to him tonight when we all go out later."

"Ah good. What?" Stella could tell there was something else.

"Well I was gonna ask if my friend John could come along as well. It's his last night here and I want him to meet all of you."

"Yeh that's fine. What's he do?"

"He's a USAF Colonel." Laura laughed when she saw Stella's face.

"Is he now? Well I think I'm looking forward to meeting him." she laughed heartily.

At Barney's everyone treating John like they had known him for years, everyone was laughing and joking around when Flack came in. seeing him Laura said, "Excuse me please John." John turned around and looked "You gonna be ok?"

"Yeh I'm taking my own advice." She replied and winked at him. He nodded and let her out of the booth. She walked over to Flack just before he reached the table.

"Can we talk a second?" she asked him.

"Yeh sure." They walked over to the bar and Flack ordered a drink before turning towards her and asking, "So what do you wanna talk about?"

"Well, first of all I wanna…" he interrupted her "Who is that guy?" Turning towards the table she said "That's John. He's a friend."

"Oh. Slept with him yet?"

"Excuse me?" she asked flabbergasted.

"You heard me. Have you slept with him yet?"

"No! I have not. How dare you insinuate that!" she was outraged.

"Well, come on think about it. Why would he make friends with you? All he wants to do is love you and leave you." Laura went from hurt to angry in a second. She turned to walk away before doing so she turned on her heel and punched him "How dare you assume that I would allow myself to be a one night stand?" with that said she walked back to the table shaking.

As she reached the table, everyone stared at her. Not wanting to explain she turned to John and said "I think I'm gonna go back to the hotel and pack up seeing as I'm going to my new apartment tomorrow. I'll see you back at the hotel later." She turned to walk and John said bye to everyone and followed her out.


	12. Apologies and dinner

**Barney's:**

Flack walked over to the CSI's table and sat down. Everyone was in shock having witnessed Laura punch him. Stella broke the silence "What the hell was all that about?" then she added "And don't lie."

"Well…" he looked sheepish before he continued, "I accused that friend of hers of just being her friend so that he could sleep with her." He turned away from them embarrassed.

"You dumbass!" this time it was Danny who had spoken "Well there's goes any chance you have of getting with her! You are so stupid sometimes!"

"For your information. She was going to apologise to you and ask if you could still be friends. As for John, he's in love with someone else, they are _just _friends! Danny's right, you are a dumbass." Stella hit hard in the shoulder. Flack dipped his head ashamed.

**On the way to the hotel:**

Laura was still shaking when they were walking around Central Park towards the hotel. They were walking in silence until John couldn't take it anymore "So you gonna tell me why you punched that guy?"

"Nope. He's an ass."

"Hm. That's interesting." Laura looked at him "What's interesting?"

"Oh nothing. Just the fact that he is blatantly the person that you're in love with, and I really can't imagine you punching someone for no reason. So what did he say?"

"He accused you of only being me friend because you want to sleep with me. So I hit him. End of story." She shrugged and dropped the conversation. They didn't speak again until they were on their floor of the hotel. She stopped and turned to him "Well it was very nice meeting you John. Here's my email, the next time you get back from Atlantis, call me so that we can meet up? I wanna hear all your adventures." She smiled and he smiled back. "Ok I will. You never know I might even be able to email you from Atlantis but it would have to go through all the USAF before you got the damn thing because of security. But if I have to tell you something about me and Teyla or whatever I'll use films as codes." He laughed. She smiled and turned towards her door, he stopped her and bent down and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm really pleased I met you Miss McFly." She smiled at him and replied "Me too. Bye John. Be careful." He smiled and walked to his door. They both said bye and walked into their rooms. Laura could hear shuffling around in his room probably getting ready to go back to Atlantis. She went around her own room and packed up her belongings. She wondered around her own room for another half an hour before giving up. Grabbing her belongings she left her room and signed out of the hotel, she was gonna go to her apartment a night early.

Walking towards her new apartment, she wasn't really paying attention when she walked into a tall person, "Oh sorry I didn't mean…" she stopped when she realised who she had walked into. Flack turned around and realised that it had been Laura who had walked into him.

"What are you doing down this neck of New York?"

"Its this neck of the woods and its got fuck all to do with you." She said and walked past him. She had just reached the steps leading up to the apartment complex when Flack tapped her on the shoulder.

"Are you following me?" she demanded. Flack shook his head and said "No. I live here." He pointed towards the building. She groaned and said "Brilliant. Just brilliant." She turned and walked into the building towards the desk.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes. I'm Laura Turner I rang before to say that I would be moving in early?"

"Ah yes. Here is your key. You're on the fifth floor, room fifty-five. Its on the left hand side." He smiled at her and handed her the key. She smiled back and walked towards the elevator. Flack was behind her in seconds. "So…" he was trying to make conversation with her, but she wasn't having any of it. He opened his mouth to say something else but he closed it again when he realised he couldn't. The elevator stopped at her floor and she got out realising that Flack was still following her. _For gods sake!! _She spun around and faced him "Will you stop following me? Its getting very annoying very quickly." He just stared at her before replying.

"Actually, I live on this floor. Room 54." He pointed to his door before adding "Looks like were gonna be neighbours." He smiled and entered his apartment leaving her flabbergasted. Laura walked into her apartment and started to put some of her belongings away. It was gonna be a long day tomorrow.

**The crime lab:**

Mac had requested a morning meeting; this was very strange as Mac rarely did anything like that unless it was important. They were all sitting in the break room when Mac walked in.

"Good morning everyone. We have a special request from the FBI. I need two of you to go undercover as a married couple. You will be observing some people, which I have no information on, and you will stay in that room until the FBI makes an arrest. Now this could go from anywhere between two days and two years. Now I have already selected who is going to be doing this little mission. Laura you are to be the wife, you are to go there and check in under Mrs McFly. The room has already been booked and the staff have been debriefed by the FBI." Laura groaned. _Not another hotel._

"Ok. When do you want me to go over there?"

"As soon as possible. Grab your clothes and then go to the Hilton hotel. Check in and wait for your husband to arrive." Laura stood up and left. Stella looked at Mac "What are you up too?" Mac tried to look innocent.

"Who me? I'm not up to anything." He couldn't help smiling. Stella tipped her head to the side and gave him a look. Conceding defeat Mac said "Alright, alright already. I am up to something. I'm gonna try and get Laura and Flack together. This is the only way that I can come up with for now. What do you guys think?"

"Hm let me guess. Flack is gonna be her husband? I would expect a nasty phone call not to mention some fire works but it could very well work. But I guess only time will tell. Does Flack know what's going on?"

"Yeh, he was being debriefed by the FBI this morning so he should already be there." Mac smiled knowingly.

"Mac I would stay away from your office and I would turn off your cell." Stella warned him. Nodding he turned his cell off and handed out assignments to the rest of the team.

**The Hilton hotel:**

Laura walked into the room and noticed that the surveillance equipment had already been set up. She could hear water running from the bathroom, _Must be the "husband" _she chuckled to herself. Walking towards the kitchen, she dropped her stuff onto the floor and went about making herself a sandwich.

Flack turned off the water, towelled himself dry, and got dressed. He was almost dressed when he heard a noise coming from the other room. Walking out into the living room, he said "Hello? Who's in here?" he walked towards the kitchen and noticed that Laura was standing there singing to herself.

"Laura." He said a little louder. Laura turned around and her mouth fell open.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me. Please tell me you're here for a different reason as to why I'm here." She looked at him, _damn he's hot. Mmmm, what I wouldn't do to that body of his._ She shook her head, he had been talking to her but she hadn't been listening, she had been to busy staring at him.

"Hey." He had walked up to her and was snapping his fingers in her face. "Earth calling Laura. Hello?"

"What?" she snapped at him.

"Did you hear a word I said?"

"Yes I heard every word. I was listening you know."

"Really? So what did I say?"

"You said that you are actually my husband until whenever this dumbass assignment is over. Stupid FBI. Did I get that right?"

"Yeh pretty much. So are we friends? I mean we are gonna have to live together. At least for now."

"Yeh listen. I'm sorry I hit you the other night. But you just made me so angry. You had no right to say that." He turned away embarrassed. She walked up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder and turned him around to face her. He looked her in the eyes and she said "I forgive you for the other night and also my last night in the hospital. I didn't mean it. I was angry and upset that, that psycho nearly killed me. Will you forgive me?" He looked shocked at the fact that she was apologising. He swallowed, "Yeh I forgive you, as long as you forgive me for being a complete ass."

"Yeh I forgive you. As long as you explain why you were an ass in the first place." She smiled at him. He took a deep breath.

"Ok. Well Danny said something to me that I wasn't ready to accept at the time, and I kinda went off my rocker. I'm so sorry. It will never happen again. I promise. Can we drop this now?"

"Yeh. So why don't you go put your shirt on and tell me what we're actually doing here." She laughed as he walked back into the bedroom and came out a couple of seconds later wearing a blue shirt. _Damn it that shirt looks nice on him._ Laura thought to herself. She shook her head, and looked up at Flack.

"So what do we do now?" she asked him.

"Erm I'm not entirely sure. I think we have to look into this telescope every now and then, but the FBI told me that it's automatically recording what's going on."

"So why are we here? If it's automatically recording what's going on?"

"Well they couldn't just rent out the room for however long without people getting suspicious. So they decided to have a 'married' couple take up the room." He shrugged his shoulders and seeing her look added, "Don't ask me. It was the FBI's idea. Not ours."

**A couple of hours later:**

"I'm hungry. Do you wanna get something to eat?" asked Flack. Laura laughed _Typical male. Always thinking about his stomach._

"Yeh, why not. Are we ordering room service or are we going down to the dining room?"

"Er… we could go down to the dining room if you want. But I warn you we may have to actually show affection towards each other." Laura shrugged her shoulders.

"That's fine by me. Just let me go change." She headed towards the bedroom and was back out within five minutes.

"That was quick. You look nice."

"Thanks. Yeh somehow in my life I've always managed to get dressed in under five minutes. It's a gift. What can I say." She laughed. "Come on lets go." They headed out the door, and walked to the elevator, once inside they went to the ground floor. As the doors opened, Flack took her hand and they walked to the dining room. They had a fantastic time, and they went back up to their room, it was getting late when Laura said "Right I'm knackered. Who should get the bed?" she asked stifling a yawn.

"You can have it tonight, then we switch tomorrow?" Laura nodded and headed to the bedroom, "Night Flack." She said as she shut the door.


	13. Telescopes

**Later that night:**

Flack was sleeping restlessly. He was jarred awake by a noise coming from the bedroom. Getting up out of his uncomfortable position on the couch and plodded over towards the door. Laura was grumbling in her sleep, murmuring incoherently until "Flack…" Flack stopped thinking she was nearby, turning he realised the door was still closed "Help me…please." She was begging in her sleep. Worried he tapped on the door, "Laura?" he said quietly. Not getting an answer, he knocked a little louder and still getting an answer, he walked into the room, just as Laura started screaming. He ran over to her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, whispering "Laura, your all right. Your all right." Suddenly she sat bolt upright in a cold sweat.

"Laura? Its alright your safe." Flack said soothingly. He moved to touch her shoulder and she jumped about a mile. She spun her head round so fast she fell out of bed making a loud thud on the floor. "Ow!" she muttered. Flack leaned over and laughed, "You ok?"

"Yeh I'm good. I didn't wake you up did I?"

"No not really. I was sleeping fitfully anyways." She slowly climbed back into the depths of the covers. He went to move when she said in a low voice "Don't leave me. Please." Shocked at her plea, he put his arms around her as she moved to lie onto his chest. Lying on his chest, she heard his heart beating faster, _wonder what's making it beat that fast?_ With that as her closing thought she fell asleep, wrapped tightly in his arms.

**The following morning:**

Groaning slightly Laura shifted in the bed. She looked at the arms that were wrapped around her protectively and smiled. Feeling him move she shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Feeling her move Flack woke up. He looked at her smiling in her sleep; he sat up slightly and just watched her sleep. He was gently stroking her hair. _She must be waking up. She's moving more._

Laura couldn't pretend anymore. She was wide-awake, but she didn't want to move she was so comfy in his arms. If she moved then she wouldn't be in this state of bliss anymore. He would want to move she didn't want that to happen. Giving in she sighed deeply and rolled over. She looked at him and smiled. He was half sitting up staring at her. He smiled "Good morning. Sleep well?"

"Good morning yourself detective. Yeh not to bad now that you chased the demons away." She smiled at him before asking "How long you been awake?"

"Not long really. You?"

"Just woke up." He laughed at her before replying "Liar. You've been awake at least an hour." She blushed a deep crimson colour before saying "You can't prove that."

"Actually. Yes I can. When your deeply asleep you don't move unless your having nightmares. When your pretending to sleep you move a hell of a lot more."

"Oh my god! You little cheat. Why didn't you tell me?" she laughed at him.

"Maybe I liked sleeping with you." Now it was his turn to blush. She raised her eyebrows at the comment but said nothing. Resigned to the fact that she actually had to move, she got up and went in the shower. Flack was still in the bed when she came out.

"You want the shower?" she asked him.

"Yeh I'll go in now." He walked past her and said "Mmmm nice." He looked her up and down as he went into the bathroom. Laura saw him do it in the full-length mirror but said nothing. She smiled to herself instead. She got ready and went into the living room. She looked through the telescope when something hit her on the foot.

Flack had just come out the shower when he walked into the living room, just as Laura looked at her foot.

"I'll get it." He bent down to retrieve the piece of the telescope that had fallen. At the same time Laura had bent down to retrieve it as well. They hit heads. Laughing they both stood up. Standing up she realised that Flack only had on a towel. He noticed that she had noticed.

"See something you like?"

"Maybe. What's it to you?" she replied. He moved towards her and her breath seemed to come in rapidly. Her heart started beating at the double pace than it usually did. He was standing so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body. She went all tingly from the feel of it. He hadn't taken his eyes off her. Deciding she was a goner, she would let him do the leading.

He ran his finger along her jaw line and down her neck, to just underneath her jaw and lightly pushed her jaw up so that her head was tilted back slightly. Moving closed her; he bent his head slightly and kissed her lightly on the lips. When she responded equally as lightly, she started to shiver and moan the more he kissed her, never strengthening the kiss. That would be her move. She deepened the kiss slightly when……


	14. Frustration

**That same morning:**

"Danny I don't think this is a good idea."

"Why not Montana? You know something I don't?"

"No, its just this is an FBI investigation, we probably shouldn't even be here in case we compromise it or something." Danny made a move to knock on the door when Lindsey screeched "Danny what are you nuts?"

"Look Flack rang me a couple of days ago and both of them are goin nuts in there. They ain't really allowed to go out and the only place that they can go is downstairs so I thought I would bring fun to them. Happy now?" he asked her. Without waiting for an answer he knocked on the door.

_You have got to be kidding me! Talk about bad timing._ She groaned out loud, Flack looked at her smiling, he was apparently very happy with himself. She rolled her eyes and looked at the door. She wasn't happy; they had interrupted something that she was greatly looking forward too. Had been for months, all she wanted was Flack. Flack kissed her lightly on the lips again before moving into the bedroom to get dressed. The knocking continued "Are you gonna get that?" he called from the bedroom. Groaning again she walked to the door and opened it with a scowl on her face.

"I'm sorry. Did we interrupt something?" smiled Danny. Laura shook her head and moved away from the door so that they could come into the room. Flack came out of the bedroom and smiled at the trio. Danny's eyebrows shot up in a question.

"What?"

Laura looked at Flack daring him to Danny what had happened. Flack didn't do it. He knew she would be hell to live with if he did.

Laura was getting annoyed, they had all been chatting and joking together when she was suddenly pacing backwards and forwards. Lindsey noticed her agitation and came over to see her "You ok?"

"Yeh. I'm fine just bored senseless. I'm also thinking I really wanna wind Flack up and I know exactly how to do it as well." She said suspiciously. Lindsey just looked at her as if she had totally lost all of her mental capacities. Laura just laughed at her and walked into the kitchen in her best sexy walk, knowing that Flack was watching. Lindsey had walked past to her and sat into her seat to watch the events. Laura opened the door to the little fridge when Danny asked, "Are you ok?"

Laura let out a deep sigh and said "No. I'm not. I'm frustrated" at this Flack's eyebrows shot up and walked into the kitchen winking at Danny as he went past "because I'm bored." Laura added.

Flack walked up behind Laura and put his arms around her waist before he whispered, "If your frustrated I'm sure I can change that." She smirked slightly and he started kissing her neck. She gripped the fridge handle tighter so that she wouldn't lose control. She hung her head and sighed softly so that only he could hear. This made him kiss her even more, she could feel him hardening beside her, smiling at this she stood up straight and closed the fridge door. Carefully she turned around and kissed him lightly on the lips before pushing him away. She looked him up and down before saying "Down boy." Smiling she walked away leaving him gobsmacked. She winked at Lindsey and walked to the couch.

"What are you smiling at?" demanded Danny.

"Well put it this way I'm not bored and I'm not the only one who's frustrated." Danny looked at her in shock "You didn't?" she nodded "You are evil." But Laura and Lindsey were too busy laughing and got louder when Flack walked back into the room, not looking very happy.

A/N: I'm sorry everyone. But I appear to have writers block at the moment. But I promise I will update it again once I think of where I can go with it. Sorry this chapter is so lousy. As always r & r. It's much appreciated. Thanks!!!!


	15. Offers

Once Lindsey and Danny had left Flack turned on her.

"Your mean you know that?" he said. She merely scowled at him and said, "Well, I'm off into the shower. Then I'm gonna get ready for the movie. You still comin? Or are you stay here being grumpy?"

"No I'm still comin. Why are you goin in the shower again for? You were only in there this mornin."

"Cold shower is needed." She said simply. _This is going to be a long night_ she thought to herself.

**Later that night:**

"So what we watching?" enquired Flack.

"A romantic comedy." Lindsey replied laughing at the look on Laura's face. "Do we have to? Can't we see something like _Hannibal Rising_? Or even some sort of other film other than a romcom?" Laura asked. She was already feeling antsy; she didn't need it to be intensified by some stupid romcom. They all argued for around five minutes but Lindsey and Danny won. Resigned to the fact that she would have to have another cold shower when she got back she sat down next to Flack with her drink and the popcorn that they were sharing. As the movie started she started to get jittery. She couldn't get comfy in the seat. When she had finally settled, she was just right, when Flack put a hand on her knee. She felt a shot of electricity run through her body from the top of her head to the tops of her toes. She looked at Flack and he had a dazed expression on his face. There was nothing particularly exceptional going on, on the screen but they were clearly still horny from the morning. She shuffled so that she could whisper in his ear, "Lets go." He looked at her in surprise.

"What about those two?" he asked quietly. She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they won't mind. Its not like they've never done it."

"True. Lets go." Laura stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the end of the aisle. They were out of the door in seconds. Danny looked at Lindsey and said, "Hey Montana, where are them two going?" he asked her quietly. She rolled her eyes and said, "To get a room." She laughed huskily at him and said, "Why don't we do the same?" Danny looked at her in surprise and then quickly led them out of the theatre before Lindsey had a chance to change her mind.

**Back at the hotel:**

Laura was struggling with the door as Flack was passionately kissing her neck to the point where she couldn't concentrate on getting the key in the door. Laughing she said, "Hang on two seconds. Need to get the key in the door so that we can finish this inside." Flack stopped just long enough so that she could get the key inside the door. She pushed the door open once he was safely inside she slammed him against the door and kissed him passionately. She slowly undone his shirt and ran her hands up his chest up to his shoulders. As she ran her hands down his arms she pushing the shirt off as well. Realising what she was up to he quickly became the aggressor and lifted her up so that her legs went around his waist. He walked them towards the bedroom as she kissed him on his lips and neck. His shirt lay forgotten about on the floor near the door. He walked over to them over to the bed and their clothes were quickly shed and within minutes he was inside her. They next to each other totally spent. They fell asleep with their fingers and legs entwined. They slept blissfully until the phone rang. She struggled to grab the phone through the sleep filled fog. Finally getting a hold of the phone she said, "Hello?" she said huskily. She felt Flack move closer to her. He didn't let go of her.

"Laura? Its Mac."

"What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Well. The FBI is closing the investigation. They have a suspect in custody. But he won't talk. I told them of your unique ability when it comes to difficult suspects. They're asking for your help. They are going to pick up the equipment in an hour and then bring you and Flack back to the station. Can you be ready by then?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I can't see why not. Bye Mac." She hung up the phone and turned to face Flack. He was now wide-awake. She smiled at him and said, "Good morning." He grinned at her stupidly and said, "Good morning yourself. So who was that?"

"That was Mac. The FBI is closing the investigation. They need my help with their suspect. They are coming to pick us up in an hour." His face fell. She sat up and put her feet on the floor. She turned to Flack and said, "I'm going to have a shower. Care to join me?" she asked him huskily. She got up and walked naked into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. Checking the temperature with her hand, she closed the door and climbed in. she smiled when she heard the door open and Flack said, "Room for one more?" She stuck her head out and splashed him, "Always." She replied.

**An hour later:**

Laura and Flack had already checked out of the hotel and were waiting for the FBI to come and collect them. Flack turned to her and said, "What you doing later?"

"Erm…I'm not sure. Why?" she asked him.

"Well I was wondering if you would come and watch me play basketball?" he asked her bashfully. She beamed at him, "I'd love too. What time and where?"

"Don't worry about it. I will take you." He smiled at her and dipped his head to kiss her when a cough sounded behind them.

"You must be detectives Flack and Turner yes?" asked the stranger.

"Yeah that's us. Who are you?" asked Laura.

"I'm special agent Mitchell and this is special agent Jackson. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah. The quicker this is over with the better." Flack said.

**At the station:**

Walking into the station Laura headed straight for the back of the main room.

"Where is he?" she asked. Mac smiled at her and said, "He's right in there. Go do your thing." Laura nodded and walked into the room. Mac turned to the FBI agents and Flack, "Ok bets on how long it will take?" he asked laughing. The agents looked shocked, when Flack said, "I say he won't last any longer than 10 minutes. Mac what do you think?"

"I'm gonna say 15 minutes at the most." He said. They walked into the adjoining room to watch the show.

Laura was now sitting comfortably in the interrogation room. The suspect opposite her however was growing increasingly uncomfortable in the silence. He grew weary of the silence and he began to babble. Laura put her head on the side every now and then. Sometimes she would make a noise in the back of her throat. Ten minutes later the FBI had the answers they were after. Laura smiled at the suspect and walked out grinning. Flack looked at her and said, "That's my girl." Laura's eyebrows shot up at the comment but didn't say anything. Mitchell turned to her and said, "That was very impressive. We could use someone like you in Washington." Before anyone could say anything Laura said, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm very happy here." Laughing she walked away with Mac and Flack.

"I can't believe they just did that. The nerve of them guys." Flack was ranting. Laura and Mac looked at each other and laughed. "What?"

"Oh nothing. When does your basketball game start?" she asked him.

"In an hour."

"Ok. I'm gonna go home and change. Meet you back here in half an hour?" she asked him.

"Yeah. That's fine. See you later."

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. I had total brain block and life got in the way. Hehe. Reviews would be greatly appreciated.


	16. Blue

Laura hurried off to her apartment to change. Bursting in through the door she walked straight to her bedroom and began looking through all the drawers. She was now off-duty and wanted to change into something comfy. She pulled out a pair of black jeans that hugged her hips and her Superman fitted top. Frowning at the top she put it back and pulled out a blue vest top. As it was warm she stuck with the vest top, pulling off her work clothes she put on her jeans and top. Walking over to her wardrobe she pulled out a navy jumper and tied it around her waist. Just in case. She checked her watch and hurried out the door.

**Back at the station:**

Flack looked at his watch and said, "She's late." Mac looked confused and said, "Late for what?"

"I'm taking her to watch me play basketball…and she's late. She's never late." Mac arched his eyebrows and said nothing. Two minutes later Laura came running in gasping, "Sorry…I'm late. Should we go?" she asked Flack.

"Yeah. Lets go." He took her hand and they both smiled at Mac and said bye before leaving. Mac just sat there smiling to himself when the rest of the team came in.

"What you smiling at Mac?" asked Danny.

"Flack is taking Laura to his sanctuary." Mac said laughing.

"You mean?"

"Yeah."

"Wow." Danny said thoughtfully. He turned around to see that the girls looked really confused. Danny turned to them and said, "Every male has place where he can go to chill out. If he takes a girl then its usually pretty serious."

"Ah. I see. So can this place be anywhere?" asked Stella confused. Mac nodded, "Yeah it can be anywhere or anything." Seeing the confused looks again he elaborated, "It could be a bus, plane, train, basketball, football or baseball."

"And Flack has taken Laura to this sacred place?" asked Lindsey.

"Yeah."

**Basketball court:**

Laura and Flack were chatting in his SUV when he pulled into a car park and hopped out saying, "We're here."

"Cool, where to?" she asked him.

"Follow me." He grabbed her hand and gently pulled her towards some stands. Walking up the steps Flack suddenly stopped and said to two men, "Hey guys. This is Laura. Would you mind looking after her during the game?"

"No problem Blue." Replied one of the men. He turned to Laura and said, "Hi I'm Cooper and this guy next to me is Brendan." Laura smiled at them both and said, "Nice to meet you." Flack turned to her and smiled, "Don't worry. You'll be fine. I'd better go. See you at half time." Before he could hurry away Laura pulled him into a kiss and said, "Have fun." He smiled again and loped off down the steps.

Brendan and Cooper moved along so that Laura could sit down. As she sat down she looked at the two men. Cooper was tall with dark hair and blue eyes. He reminded Laura of Flack but in a different way and Brendan was medium height with blonde hair. The game had just started as she had finished looking at the two men. She watched the game looking for Flack when suddenly Cooper shouted, "Nice one Blue!" Laura thought for a second, _didn't he call Flack Blue before?_ She asked herself. Clearing her throat she said, "Cooper? Who is Blue?"

"Blue is your boy Flack." He answered chuckling. Now she was even more confused than before. "Why do you call him Blue?"

"Because he has blue eyes and he's a cop. I didn't think of the nickname but I overheard some kid calling him it and I've done it ever since."

"Ah." Laura said and smiled as they watched the rest of the first half in silence, cheering every now and then.

**Half time:**

Flack came running over to them when he saw them standing next to the gate between the basketball court and the benches.

"So what do you think?" he asked her. She stood and pondered her answer she looked at him and loved the idea that he was squirming. She took a deep breath and said, "Well Blue…I really don't know what to say…I mean personally I thought you were brilliant but these two" she pointed to the two men, "said you sucked."

"What!" exclaimed Cooper and Brendan in unison.

"We didn't say that I swear Blue." Cooper said. Laura just stood there and chuckled.

"What's so funny? You British bitch?" demanded Brendan. Laura immediately went on the defensive, "Hey! I was just messing with you. He knows I was kidding right?" she asked Flack. He nodded but was looking angrily at Brendan. He was about to say something when her pager beeped. Groaning she looked at it and turned to Flack, "I'm sorry Blue. But there's an emergency at the lab. Must be short staffed or too many people killing each other. I gotta go. I'm sorry. But have fun for the rest of your game and I will see you at the bar once I'm done?"

"Yeah ok. Be careful ok?" he said kissing her lightly.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'll call you if I'm not gonna be able to make it to the bar ok?"

"Ok. See you later." She smiled at him and said bye to Cooper and Brendan and left to go to the lab.

**At the lab:**

"So what the big emergency?" she asked Danny when she walked into the building.

"I'm not sure. Montana and me have another case in Central Park and Stella and Hawkes have one over in Brooklyn. Why you here? I thought you were at Flack's basketball game?"

"I was. But I got called in. Hm I wonder what's goin on."

"I think you're about to find out." Danny said and pointed at Mac who was heading their way. "Anyways I better get back to it. See you later?"

"Yeah hopefully. See you later Danny." Mac had arrived as Danny walked away.

"Thanks for coming in Laura."

"No problem. What's up?" Mac seemed suddenly nervous which was very much unlike him. Laura grew concerned.

"What is it Mac?"

"It's the FBI again. They want you to interrogate a suspect that they have done at the PD. Apparently he ain't talkin and they need you."

"Are they frelling kidding me?" Laura said angrily. Mac gave her a funny look.

"What?"

"What does 'frelling' mean?" he asked confused.

"Oh right. Sorry. I've been watching a lot of _Farscape_ in my spare time lately. No idea why. Boredom I think and I think frell is their way of saying fuck. Personally I think it's a much nicer way. What do you think?"

"Yeah. I agree. So what you gonna do about this suspect?"

"How often have the feds been calling you?"

"Every ten minutes. I wouldn't have called you but its been doin my head in." Before Laura could reply Mac's phone started to ring. He looked at the screen and groaned.

"Is it them again?"

"Yes. Would you speak to them?" he asked her.

"Yeah no problem." She took a hold of his phone and answered it, "What?"

"_Who is this?_" asked a male voice.

"This is detective Laura Turner. I'm the one you want to interrogate your suspect."

"_Oh right. Sorry ma'am. When are you coming down to the PD?_" he demanded now. Laura's face darkened.

"Well number one, no one tells me what to do. Secondly you've ruined my night so I will be there in five minutes so that you can't ruin it even more and thirdly if I hear that you've been annoying my superior with this ever again. There will be consequences. You hear me?"

"_Are you threatening a federal agent detective?_"

"You bet I am. I will be there momentarily. Good bye." Laura said hanging up the phone. She looked at Mac and sighed. "Well I'd better go. You gonna be in the bar later?"

"Yeah. Thanks Laura."

"No problem Mac. See you later." She waved goodbye and headed towards the lift.

A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. But I've had major writers block on this story. I will try and update as soon as I can. Thanks for sticking with me :-)


	17. Leaving

**Six months later:**

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" she demanded.

"Well you could probably try telling them to fuck off." He shouted back. Laura rolled her eyes, "What you think I haven't tried that?"

"Obviously not hard enough. You know what? Why don't you go to Washington?" Laura softened her tone before saying, "Come on Blue. You don't mean that."

"Yes I do. It's driving me nuts." Flack answered and left Laura standing in the middle of the crime lab in total shock. Danny, Lindsey, Stella and Hawkes had been watching the exchange. Laura and Flack had been arguing like this for the last couple of months and it was obviously starting to take a toll on their relationship. Stella shook her head and said, "Well…I wonder what she'll do?"

"She won't go. She loves him too much." Danny said hoping he was right.

"Yeah but the Feds are not giving up on this one. They've been bothering Mac as well as Laura and Flack for the last six months. Its getting ridiculous." Stella said shaking her curly head. They all walked away and headed to trace, the morgue and their offices. Laura looked around and sighed heavily. _Maybe I should go. If it means it'll stop all of the harassment._ She thought to herself. She headed for Mac's office to ask him what he thought she should do.

_I can't believe I said that to her. I really don't want her to go but she has to. They've threatened to throw my sister in jail on a trumped up charge if she doesn't go. I should probably tell her._ Flack thought to himself. He had already left the crime lab and was heading towards the station when his phone rang.

"Flack."

"_How are you progressing with your task?_" asked the voice.

"She'll be there by the end of the week."

"_Good. Your sister will be pleased._" Flack grimaced and hung up the phone. There was only one way he knew he would force Laura to go to DC.

**Later that night:**

Laura was pacing around her apartment waiting for Flack to come home. She knew he was going out with some people from the station. She also knew she needed to talk to him about this Washington DC business. She was about to go to bed when she heard his front door open. Laura ran to her own door and flung it open. What she saw hurt her more than anything. There was a strange woman practically hanging off Flack and he most definitely looked like he was enjoying himself immensely. Before she could utter a coherent sentence she grabbed her keys from the little table next to the door and slammed the door shut and ran out of the building. She didn't stop until she was severely out of breath. Tears were also stinging her eyes, as she had been running she had made up her mind about DC. Turning around she headed for the crime lab.

**At the crime lab:**

Laura stepped out of the lift and headed for Mac's office when she pretty much walked into Danny. He stopped her by the shoulders and said, "Hey. You ok?" Laura looked up at him and said, "I will be. Sorry for walking into you. I'm in a bit of a daze."

"I can see that. Who you looking for?"

"Mac. I was hopin to catch him in between cases or before the end of his shift."

"He's on a case at the minute but he should be back before you know it." He took a look at her and then added, "But I wouldn't go and see him looking like that. You look awful." She chuckled and said, "Thanks."

"Come on. Lets go to the break room and chat while you wait."

"Aren't you busy?"

"Na." He waved his hand dismissively. They sat down in the break room in silence. Danny finally broke it, "So you wanna tell what's wrong?" Laura shook her head, "Not really. But you could tell me something before I go."

"If I can I will." He had noticed her choice of words but decided not to comment on it at the moment.

"How long have you and Lindsey been together?" she asked him smirking.

"How did you know that?" Laura tilted her head to the side before replying, "You can't answer my question with another question. Answer mine and I will answer yours."

"Around a year and a half. Now you answer mine." Laura's jaw dropped in amazement.

"It was just a hunch really since I got here. Why haven't you told anyone?"

"Because we wanted to see if it would work out with work and stuff before we told anyone."

"Ah I see. Well your secret is safe with me. Although I would have won a load of money if I could tell." She replied chuckling.

"Money?"

"Yeah there's a bet on when the two of you will get together. I bet that you were already together." She said smiling again.

"Well sorry."

"Its ok. At least I know I was right." Before he could say anything Laura saw Mac come round the corner. "There's Mac. Thanks for this Danny. See you around." She smiled at him again and left the break room. _What the hell is going on with her?_ Danny thought to himself as he made himself a cup of coffee.

Laura shouted of Mac as he walked into his office.

"Hey Mac. I was wondering if I could have a quick word?" she asked a little breathlessly.

"Yeah. What is it?" he asked worried.

"You still having trouble with the Feds?" Mac's face darkened before he answered.

"Yes. Why?"

"Tell them I'll be there by the end of the week." Laura said.

"What?"

"I've had enough. They are making everyone miserable. Especially me. This has got to stop. It's starting to influence my work. I'm sick of it and I don't want you to keep getting nagged by them. In fact could you tell them that I'll be there tomorrow afternoon?"

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" he asked already knowing the answer. Laura nodded and didn't say anything. Seeing her resigned look Mac said, "Alright. I'll tell them. What are you goin to say to the rest of the team?"

"I don't know. Haven't really thought about it." She admitted truthfully. Mac didn't say anything and Laura said, "Well if you need a Fed for anything you know where to find me." Laura laughed slightly before saying, "Thanks for everything Mac."

"Your job will always be here if you want it back. You're a brilliant CSI." Laura smiled and left his office made of glass. Laura wondered over to the lift and stepped into it. A plan already in her mind.

**Back at her apartment:**

She sat down at her desk and picked up a pen.

_Hey everyone, _

_I'm really sorry I'm not there in person to say goodbye but it was just too hard. Please forgive me. I will miss you all. If you're ever in Washington for whatever reason look me up. See you all around at some point I'm sure._

_Bye._

_From Laura._

Laura sighed and picked up the letter, her gun and badge. She had already packed her suitcase and booked her flight. She had everything ready for her flights to Washington. She had chosen a flight path that made sure she had to change in different place. She wanted out of New York as quickly as possible. She left her apartment and headed to the crime lab for the last time. She looked around as got out of the lift and was pleased to see no-one there. She hurried into the break room and placed her letter and gun and badge on the table and left as quickly as she entered.


	18. Why?

Laura sat on the plane thinking to herself. She had just left all of her friends and the only people she could really call family since she had arrived in New York. _I've made my decision and now I have to live with it._ She thought miserably. She sighed heavily and turned to look out the window.

**Back in New York.**

"What the hell is this?" demanded Stella storming into Mac's office waving a letter around. Mac frowned and took the letter from Stella's hand.

"It's a goodbye note. From what I can gather." Mac said. Stella rolled her eyes.

"I can see that! Where the hell has she gone?" Stella was very angry now.

"Washington."

"Are you kidding me?" Mac shook his head before asking, "Has anyone else seen this?"

"No. Not that I'm aware of." Stella said and then a thought struck her, "Does Flack know?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Why?" asked Mac.

"Well…let's see. Why would Flack want to know where his girlfriends gone?" Stella said sarcastically. Before Mac could reply Flack walked in looking very tired.

"Mornin everyone." Stella jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly tried to hide the letter behind her back.

"Mornin Flack. You ok? You look tired?" she asked concerned.

"Yeah. My sister kept me up all night with her constant throwing up." Seeing the confused looks he said, "She went out on a bender. Called me all upset. What?" The looks of confusion were starting to get annoying.

"You have a sister?" Mac asked. Flack nodded, "Yeah. Didn't I tell you guys?" Stella and Mac shook their heads when Lindsey and Danny walked in. Stella turned to Mac startled.

"What is up with you two?" asked Flack. Mac sighed and grabbed the note from behind Stella's back.

"Stella found this in the break room." He handed the letter to Flack who quickly read it his expression was unreadable. He handed the letter to Lindsey and Danny. After reading the letter Lindsey rounded on Flack, "What did you do this time?" Flack looked indignant before replying, "Nothing!"

**Washington DC airport.**

Laura looked around the impressive airport and sighed heavily. She walked out of the terminal and noticed that an official looking officer was holding a sign with her name on it. She walked up to the man and said, "Excuse me? Do I know you?" The man looked her up and down and said, "No. You don't know me. I am to escort you to the J. Edgar Hoover building here in DC. I'm Tim by the way." He held out his hand and Laura shook it. He seemed nice enough. _Maybe this isn't going to be to bad_ she thought to herself.

**New York:**

Flack was pacing up and down annoying everyone. _Why had she done it?_ He thought miserably to himself. _ You know why she did it. You made sure that she would go. You even used your own sister to do it._ His subconscious answered him. He sighed heavily and continued to pace. Danny was watching Flack pace the floor. It was starting to get on his last nerve. Danny snapped.

"Will you stop?" Flack looked at him, rolled his eyes and continued to pace. Lindsey walked in and looked at the pair. Flack was pacing the floor and from the way Danny was scowling he had been doing it awhile. She cleared her throat. A pair of blue eyes and brown eyes turned to look at her. She flushed self-consciously. "Danny we have a case in downtown Manhattan. Mac told us to go." She said before Danny could ask 'why now?' Danny stood up threw Flack an annoyed look and left to get his coat. Lindsey shrugged and gave Flack a small smile before leaving to get her own coat. Flack watched them both leave and then resumed his pacing.


	19. Undercover

A few months later, Flack had left the detective side of the NYPD he was now an undercover officer. Laura's sudden departure hadn't been taken well by anyone who knew her. The only people that seemed to be coping were Mac and Danny sort of. However it was Flack's sudden career change that had been the biggest shock, he would be away for weeks on end, sometimes only to resurface to give his report and then that would be it. He would disappear again. This case, however, was different. He had gone deep undercover into the McKay crime family. No one had seen him for around a month. The McKay family was very well connected in New York and no one could touch them. The reason he had gone was to gather evidence that would cripple the family and put three prominent family members away for life with no chance at parole. Mac was the only one on the CSI team who knew what Flack was up to. But now that he hadn't heard from him he was getting more and more concerned. Pacing around in his office he decided he would need help, making a decision he picked up the phone, punched in a number and waited for the other person to pick up the phone. He didn't have to wait long.

"_Hello?_" a female voice answered. _Wow she sounds bored_ Mac thought to himself.

"Laura? Its Mac."

"_Hey Mac. What's up? Everyone ok?_" Mac chuckled she hadn't changed.

"Yeah everyone's fine. Well not fine but coping. Listen are any of your people watching the McKay family down here?"

"_Give me a second I can find out._" Mac could hear the tapping noise of the keyboard when she came back, "_Well we did. The guy in charge hasn't reported back for a couple of months. So that can only mean one thing up here. What's all this about Mac?_"

"How much do you know about the McKay family?"

"_The same as everyone else. They're big on the drugs and guns that seem to wind up on the street. No one will touch them with a ten-foot barge pole and they are very, very violent. They won't stand for backstabbing which is ironic when you think about it. Why? Who's the PD got on the inside?_"

"How do you know that the PD has someone inside?"

"_I'm not stupid. Besides if your asking me for information then its someone you trust. You don't normally try and dig around in FBI backyard without a good reason. So who is it?_"

"Flack."

"_I'm on my way. I should be back in New York by the end of your shift._"

"What about your job in Washington?"

"_I'm stuck behind a desk. No fieldwork. I do maybe 3 interrogations a week. I'm bored senseless. Besides your gonna need my help with Gerrard. And before you ask I'll bring all the info I have on the McKay family. See you soon._" Before Mac could say anything the line had gone dead. Mac smiled slightly to himself. He had just given Laura the perfect way to get away from the FBI.

**A couple of hours later:**

Laura hailed a cab from outside the airport and directed the driver towards the crime lab. Once she had paid him she hurried into the lift and hit the 52 button. Once on the floor she practically collided with a tall, dark haired woman she didn't recognise. When the woman turned around Laura couldn't help but notice that she looked like Flack.

"I'm sorry for running into you. Can I help you find who you're looking for?" Laura asked her.

"I'm looking for Don Flack. Do you know him?"

"Yes I know him. He's not here at the moment. Can I take a message?"

"Yes. Tell him that Kate is looking for him. I know he's undercover and what not but I know he comes here to see a Mac Taylor I think it is? So if you see him could you tell him?"

"Yes. No problem."

"Thank you." Kate walked towards the lift and stepped inside. Laura had watched her go and now she was running towards Mac's office. She skidded to a halt outside his door and looked through the glass, he wasn't there. After checking the rest of the building she decided to head to the police station.

**Police station:**

"Gerrard you have no jurisdiction on this one. Besides I thought you would _want_ to find him."

"Your way out of line on this one Taylor. You had no right to bring in the FBI. You know they can't be trusted. They took one of your own criminalists right out from under you. What makes you think you can trust this particular one?"

"Because this one knows the city and I would trust her with my life."

"Where is she then?" Laura cleared her throat and said, "Right here." Gerrard turned and looked at her.

"Oh. Its you." Laura narrowed her eyes. "Yes its me. Now if you'll excuse us. I believe detective Taylor and his team work for me now. If you wouldn't mind getting out of my face so that _I _can find _your _detective." Gerrard opened his mouth to speak but decided against it and walked away. Laura turned to Mac and the team and said, "Hey everyone. Mac what are we gonna do now?"

"I thought you were in charge?" Mac said grinning.

"Oh Hell no. I only said that to piss him off. I work for you. As it should be. Now where to?"

"Somewhere where we can't be overheard. Lets go." The team followed Mac out of the building. Deciding that Mac's house would be safest they headed there.

**Mac's house:**

Mac's house was fairly large but not too large with plenty of open space. The dining room was one of the biggest rooms in the house. It had a hard wood floor with an antique table in the middle of the room. Which seemed out of place as the rest of the room and the house was modern. Seeing the surprised looks on his teams' faces he said, "It was my grandmothers table. Should we set out the stuff that we know on the table?" Laura walked up to the table and laid out the things that she had brought with her on the McKay family. Everyone was looking at her.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. What you doing here?" asked Danny.

"You know why I'm here. To find Flack."

"Oh. You going to do a runner again once we find him?"

"No. I'm not going back to Washington. I hate it there. What's with the Spanish Inquisition?"

"Well the last time you left, you left a note and very broken hearted man behind. I don't think he could cope with that again. None of us could. I just want to make sure you know where you want to be. That's all."

"You don't have to worry. I'm not going anywhere. Oh and I missed you too Danny. I missed all of you. The FBI are right bastards. So do all you hate me?"

"No. I don't. Pleased your back." Lindsey said smiling and giving her a hug.

"Yeah me to." Hawkes said and also gave Laura a hug.

"Don't you do that again. Like Danny said we couldn't go through that again. John was a bit surprised that you had gone. But don't worry we cheered him up." Stella said with a smile and hugged Laura. They sat pouring through the information that Laura had brought from Washington for hours. They had finally decided that Flack was probably being held in one of the warehouses that the family used for "special" meetings. They then sat up for the rest of the night and made a plan to get him out.


	20. Who are you?

**Two hours later:**

"Laura before we go raid this warehouse I need you to go and check out his flat. He's probably gonna need a change of clothes and whatnot. Also see if he left any clue that he thought he was gonna be found out."

"Ok Mac. On my way. Am I going solo or am I going to have help?" Laura asked laughing.

"Take Lindsey." Laura walked out of Mac's house with Lindsey following behind her. It didn't take long to get to Flack's apartment, when they arrived Laura noticed a nice red Ducati motorbike standing outside. Laura whistled.

"Nice bike. Wonder who's that is." Lindsey came up behind her and said, "That's Flack's." Laura's mouth fell open in surprise. "That _Ducati_ is Flack's? Yeah right. Whatever you say Linds." Laura muttered and walked into the apartment building. They walked into his flat and noticed that it had been tossed.

"What the hell happened here?" asked Lindsey. Laura did a quick walk through and noticed that nothing had been taken.

"Probably looking for notes or something like that. Explains why nothing has been stolen. Including the bike that's apparently his." Laura said smirking. Lindsey shook her head and said, "Why don't we get him some clothes? He's probably gonna need them at the hospital."

"Yeah ok. Lets go to my place and get his spare set from there. Mac's probably gonna want to go over this with a fine tooth comb." Both girls left and headed over to Laura's apartment.

"Why did you keep it?" Lindsey asked, seeing the puzzled look she said, "the apartment I mean." Laura shrugged her shoulders before answering.

"I guess I always hoped that I would come back. Thought I would have been back before now to be honest. Just goes to show that nothing ever works out the way you want it to."

**The warehouse:**

Don Flack was badly beaten and extremely bloody. He'd been tied to a chair with rope and he'd been sitting there for god knows how long. He'd been trying to keep track of the time with any clocks or his watch. After two days he'd given up. As for why he was bloody and beaten, he'd been found out that he was an undercover officer for getting into a fight with another undercover. This one was from the FBI; Flack hadn't known this at the time. Flack thought to himself, _why did I have a fight with him? He had said something…that was it! He'd said Laura was only at the FBI because the director was getting pressure off the president to get more women into the Bureau and for his lack of results when it came to interrogations. Then Laura walked into the NYPD with both of those attributes…_Flack hadn't thought about Laura in a long time. She'd broken his heart and everyone knew it. However what they didn't know was that he'd done it deliberately. He'd gotten his sister drunk and then practically dragged her to his apartment knowing that Laura would be listening for him to come home, also knowing exactly what it would look like. Flack suddenly looked up, he could hear someone walking towards his cell. The door opened and in walked the top man from the McKay family. No one knew what this man looked like. What surprised Flack was that the man was fairly small compared to him. Flack wasn't intimidated. He'd never met the man and now that he had he didn't seem to be that scary.

"Detective…who were you reporting?" the man asked politely. Flack looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "What?"

"Oh nothin'. Just for a big, scary crime lord, you're neither scary nor big. I'm guessing you don't like getting your hands dirty then?" The man looked at Flack in amusement.

"From where I'm standing your not so big yourself. Now tell me who you're reporting to before you see how dirty my hands can get." Flack didn't say anything; he was already battered and bloody. What were a few more bruises? Flack didn't realise how wrong he was gonna be.

"Fine have it your way." That was the last thing Flack heard before a metal pipe came swinging towards his head. As McKay was beating in Flack's head he didn't hear the sounds from just inside the warehouse. He was having too much fun.

**Just inside the warehouse:**

"Okay I want no bloodshed. We need to take these guys alive to question them, that being said feel free to beat them up if you see any that get in your way." Mac told the rest of his team while they looked at him in shock. "Hey you take on one of us, you take on all of us. Lets go." The team nodded in agreement and headed in separate directions. Any resistance they came across they would hit repeatedly to try and find out where Flack was. Laura on the other hand was mainly interrogating them and hitting them.

"Where is he?" she screamed at one.

"I don't know _chica_." Laura frowned and smacked him in the face.

"WHERE IS HE?" she demanded again.

"I don't know who your on about." This guy was persistent. In the end Laura had lost all patience and knocked the guy out.

"That's not very helpful." Mac said while he binded his wrists behind his back. Laura just rolled her eyes.

"Well. He wasn't being helpful. I'd probably find him quicker without that idiot."

"Lets go." They walked on a little further with Laura just slightly ahead of Mac with her gun out when she suddenly stopped. She had heard a noise. "You hear that?" Mac stopped and listened.

"No." Laura heard the noise again.

"You can't hear that?"

"No. What does it sound like?" Mac asked.

"Sounds like something heavy hitting something. It's making a dull thud whatever it is and it's coming from just on the other side of this wall." Mac and Laura slowly creeped towards the door and Laura snuck her head just inside. What she saw made her recoil and almost throw up.

"What is it?" Mac demanded. Laura took a couple of deep breaths and said, "Well I identified that dull thud."

"Well?"

"That would be Flack's head being beat in with a metal pipe." Laura said, she turned her eyes towards the floor and scanned it quickly. She found what she was looking for and holstered her gun and walked over to the metal pipe that she had spotted and picked it up. She swung it around like a baseball bat a couple of times and without even waiting for Mac she pushed herself into the room and swung the pipe. Blood spattered from McKay's head all over her. Mac walked in seconds behind her and saw her standing over McKay.

"What did you do?"

"Practise for my baseball tournament." Laura said and dropped the pipe and went over to Flack who was practically falling out of the chair even though he was strapped to it. She quickly unbound him and called for the ambulance men to come in.

**At the hospital:**

Laura and the rest of the team were anxiously waiting to hear about how Flack was doing. He was still unconscious when they'd arrived at the hospital and the doctors and nurses had whisked him away. They'd had to physically restrain Laura from going with the stretcher. Now she was pacing. Everyone was silent.

"Does this remind anybody of anything?" Danny suddenly said into the silence. Laura stopped pacing and everyone looked at Danny. He rolled his eyes. "Flack was doing exactly that" he said pointing to the floor and waving it backwards and forwards "after you left for DC." Laura scowled at him and continued to pace the floor. "He did that as well." Danny muttered under his breath. A couple of hours later Flack's doctor came into the room.

"How is he?" everyone asked him. He held up his hand.

"He's gonna be fine. His head took some pretty extensive damage…" before he could continue Laura said, "Well that's kinda what happens when its being smacked with metal pipe repeatedly." The doctor ignored her and carried on, "he's got some broken ribs and lots of bruises which I guess is expected. But he should be waking up within the next hour. I'll send someone for you." Without waiting for an answer he walked out. An hour later a nurse came in and said "You can see him now. I must warn you that he's a little disorientated. So don't get freaked out." Everyone followed the nurse towards his room. When they got there Flack had bandages wrapped around his head and his chest was wrapped up as well. His face was black and blue. Danny walked in first and said, "Hey man. How you feeling?"

"Like I've had my head bashed in." The rest of the team walked in and were standing around is bed. Laura was standing at the bottom. "Who are you?" he asked her. Laura looked at the team in shock and left the room.

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Been having issues with the Internet at home but hopefully I'll be updating a bit more regularly. Thanks for all the reviews please keep em coming. Also very sorry for patchiness of this chapter.**


	21. Recognition

Laura was pissed. _Disorientated my ass!!_ She was stalking through the hospital corridors looking for Flack's doctor. She wasn't watching what she was doing when she collided with a tall man with dark hair and eyes and she promptly fell to the floor. _Damn he's solid_ she thought to herself.

"Wow. Where's the fire?" he asked her as he helped her up.

"Do you know where I can find Doctor Pullman?" she asked rudely. He looked at her in confusion.

"Why?"

"I want to kick his ass. Got a problem with that?" she demanded. The man thought for a minute before replying "He's in the break room. Why do you wanna kick his ass for?"

"Are you always this nosey? Because he said a friend of mine would only be disorientated when in actual fact he doesn't remember me at all."

"Not usually. Why you so upset over this?"

"Because he isn't just my friend, we were…close for a while and I'm upset." _I would feel better if I could kick his ass…just leave me alone._ The man frowned at her again and said, "This way." He started to walk away from her but Laura didn't move. He stopped and said, "Ain't you comin'?"

"No. I've changed my mind. Thanks for your help. Oh and sorry for running into you." Before the man could reply Laura disappeared. She made her way back to Flack's room and took a deep breath before going in.

"Sorry Mac. That was the lab; my results are in from trace. So I'm gonna go see to them." She turned her attention to Flack, "Sorry. I must have left my manners back in England. Laura Turner. Nice to meet you detective." She smiled and held out her hand. Flack looked at her wearily before shaking her hand. Catching on to what Laura was doing Mac said, "She joined the lab a couple of days after you went undercover." As a way of explaining the situation to Flack. Laura smiled and left and went to the crime lab. Flack had a vacant look on his face once she had left.

"You ok?" Danny asked him.

"Yeah. I just…I dunno…" Flack trailed off as his eyelids began to droop, seeing this Stella said, "Come on guys. Lets go and let Don have his beauty sleep."

"Thanks Stel. See you guys later." They all left leaving Flack to his thoughts. As he was sleeping he kept thinking about the woman he had just met. Flack frowned in his sleep.

**Back at the station:**

The team arrived back to see Laura sitting in the break room just staring at a can of coke.

"She must feel like crap." Danny said.

"Yeah. He doesn't even remember who she is. If it was me I think I would feel like that as well." Lindsey agreed. They continued to look at her for a couple of minutes and then went off in different directions.

Laura was too busy staring at her can of coke to even notice that the rest of the team come back from the hospital. She was still staring when her phone started to ring. She ignored it. _However it is will give up eventually_ she thought glumly. A couple of minutes later it started to ring again. She picked it up and noticed that it was the director of the FBI.

"What?" she demanded.

"_Where are you?_"

"New York. Where I belong."

"_We need you here._"

"Tough. I quit." Before the director could say anything she hung up the phone and threw it against the wall where it made a loud bang and shattered. Adam had been walking past the break room when Laura had thrown her phone. He'd heard about Flack and could tell that she was clearly upset. He took a deep breath and walked into the break room instead of going to his lab. She hadn't seen him come in and he walked over to where her phone was lying on the floor and picked up the pieces. Walking over to the table he said, "You know…I could try and fix this for you."

"Don't bother. I'll get a new one."

"Oh…uh…ok…" Adam struggled trying to come up with something else to say so instead he placed the pieces of her phone on the table and walked out of the room.

**A couple of months later:**

By the time Flack was discharged from the hospital and back on active duty Laura was almost back to her usual self. Laura hadn't been back to the hospital since the incident and she hadn't even mentioned Flack's name. Everytime his name was mentioned she would go quiet, she knew that when he came back to work she would have to keep up the pretence that she'd only met him a couple of months earlier not a almost a year earlier.

"Laura you have a scene in Brooklyn. Looks like a homicide. You good to go?" Mac asked her.

"Yeah." Laura replied and went to get her kit. She was on her way to Brooklyn where her crime scene was when she realised that she didn't know who the lead detective was. She'd made a habit not get any scenes with Flack. She just didn't want to be around him. _Too late now_ she thought to herself. She pulled up outside of the crime scene and got her kit out of the back and took a deep breath. She walked up the creaking stairs and found a uniformed officer.

"Excuse me. Where's the crime scene?" she asked him with a smile.

"Go down the corridor and turn left. Its gruesome." The officer said shakily.

"Where you first on scene?"

"No ma'am. My partner was and I had to clear it since he was throwing up ma'am."

"Did you leave your name with the detective who's taking this case?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Why don't you go and get some air. I'll talk to you later if I need to. Ok?" she said kindly. The officer looked relieved and said, "Thank you ma'am." As he made a quick exit. Laura chuckled to herself and made her way to the crime scene. When she got there she was surprised to see Hawkes already there processing.

"Hey Hawkes. What we got?" she asked him as she passed over the threshold.

"Multiple gunshot wounds." He pointed with his little finger as he showed her where the vic had been shot; "Fatal one was probably the one to the head, although either one on his chest and abdomen would have done it eventually. Also his kneecaps are completely obliterated. Been shot out from behind from what I can gather."

"Jesus Christ he was put through the ringer wasn't he?"

"Yeah. There are bruises all over his body. Not going to speculate where they come from. Can't rob Sid of his fun." Hawkes said chuckling.

"No can't be doing that." Laura said laughing. Laura stood up and walked around the little apartment she heard someone come in. _Probably the lead_ she thought to herself. She walked back into the main living room area and to her surprise she saw Flack talking to Hawkes. She stood still for a couple of seconds while she gathered her thoughts. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. Flack and Hawkes turned to face her. She smiled and said, "Hello again detective. What we got?"

"Nobody heard nothin'. Which judging from the number of wounds is a pack of lies. If I had my choice I would arrest them all for lying to a copper." Laura and Hawkes looked at Flack strangely. "What?"

"Copper?" Hawkes said trying not to laugh.

"Yeah it's a word! What's that got to do with anything?" Flack was starting to get irritated.

"Oh nothing. Absolutely nothing." Hawkes said, who could no longer hold in his laughter and walked towards Laura who was still looking at Flack like he'd grown another head.

"Apparently he does remember you." Hawkes said quietly as he walked past her into the bedroom she had just come out of to process it.

"What?" Flack said. Laura shook her head, "I'm sorry. What? What?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sorry. Er…Hawkes?" she called.

"Yeah?"

"Which rooms have you processed?"

"Er…living room, hallway and in here." He called from the bedroom.

"You want me to do the kitchen and bathroom?"

"Yeah can do." Laura nodded and walked past Flack, "Excuse me detective." Flack stepped out of the way. "Thank you." She smiled at him and walked into the kitchen where she put down her kit and got to work. Flack was standing just outside of the kitchen watching her. He was looking around as if he was nervous.

"So…er…do you like working for the crime lab?" he asked suddenly.

"Yeah. It has its moments. Can't say it's ever dull."

"No. That's what you get in the big city though."

"Yeah. I guess." Laura couldn't think of anything else to say so she just carried on working. Laura was looking through the freezer when she suddenly started to laugh.

"What's funny?" Flack asked. He'd slowly entered the kitchen as she had processed it. Laura reached into the freezer and pulled out a sawn-off shotgun.

"Well I'm pretty sure this thing would be an instant case of indigestion. Although the cold will have preserved any prints that the killer left behind." She carefully put the shotgun into a clear plastic bag and zipped it up when Hawkes walked in.

"Where you find that?"

"Freezer."

"Hm. People are so stupid." Hawkes said.

"You can say that again." Flack and Laura said together. Hawkes looked at the pair and shook his head. Laura shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well I'm done in here. Just need to do the bathroom. You heading back to the lab?"

"Yeah. You want me to take that?" Hawkes said pointing to the gun.

"Yeah can do." Flack had walked out of the kitchen and was talking to one of the uniforms about basketball. "Do me a favour Hawkes?"

"Yeah."

"Take Flack with you. I can't work with him looking at me."

"Ok. But from what I've heard since he came back he won't leave a scene until everyone's ready to go." Laura groaned.

"Never mind. I'm sure I can cope."

"Ok. See you back at the lab." Hawkes told Flack where he was going and Flack came back into the apartment. Laura had already gone into the bathroom when he appeared behind her.

"You nearly done?" Laura practically jumped a mile.

"Jesus Christ Blue! Don't do that!" she screamed at him.

"Sorry didn't mean to startle you." Flack said.

"You will be. Yes nearly done. If you wouldn't mind?" she asked him indicating him to step back so that she could close the door.

"What you gonna do?" he asked her.

"I'm going to run the ALS in here see if I can pick up any biologicals. But I need to shut the door." Flack stepped back and Laura shut the door. Laura took her samples and opened the door five minutes later. "Right I'm done."

"You going back to the lab?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You need a lift?"

"Er no. I've got my car thank you."

"What car you got?"

"Mini." Flack laughed. "What?" she demanded.

"Nothin'. That's such a chick car." Laura raised her eyebrow.

"You don't know me. So what's with insulting my car?" Flack looked dumbfounded for a second. "I…uh…have no idea…" _That's because that's what we used to be like_ Laura thought to herself sadly. She hung her head and left the apartment. Flack was beside her in seconds. "Look I'm sorry if I upset you."

"You didn't. Don't worry about it."

"Ok. So if you could get around on any method of transport. What would it be?" Flack asked her. Laura stopped in her tracks and looked at him. "Probably a hoverboard. If they were real that is." She walked away again and she was soon outside and putting her kit into the back of her mini. A uniformed officer had stopped Flack and Laura had taken her chance to get away from him. By the time she had put all of her stuff into her car he was outside and next to her. She turned around and jumped again.

"What did I tell you before about creeping up on me? Next time I'll just kick your ass." Flack held up his hands.

"Sorry. I just wanted to make sure that you had everything and that you were safe." Laura raised an eyebrow.

"Are you like this with everyone?" Flack thought for a moment and said, "No."

"Ok then. I'm gonna get this stuff to the lab. I'll ring you when I have something. See you around detective." Laura was in her car and driving off before he could say anything.

**At the lab a couple of hours later:**

Laura and Hawkes had been going over their results when Flack came in.

"I thought you were going to call me when you got some results." He demanded. Laura just looked at him and then turned towards Hawkes.

"Do you want to tell him our 'results' or do you want me to?"

"You do it. I'm too tired." Laura turned her attention back to Flack and said, "We didn't call you because we don't have anything that can lead to a suspect. The gun I got from the freezer doesn't match the bullets that Sid pulled from the vic and there was no hit in IBIS. Also the samples I pulled from the bathroom came back the vic and an unknown male, no match in CODIS and thirdly who the Hell do you think you are?"

"What?" Flack asked dumbfounded. Laura was at her wits end with this.

"Don't you ever come up to me demanding to know something! I will tell you when I am good and ready. You got that?" she was right in his face now. As she looked at him she saw a flash of recognition. Surprised she stepped back. Hawkes who had placed his head in his hands when Laura had started to explain their results had sat up when she had started to shout at him. With another glance at Flack Laura walked out of the room and headed towards the lift.

"Is she always like that?" Flack asked Hawkes.

"No. Not normally."

"Must just be me then." Hawkes didn't answer but went to find either Lindsey or Stella. He managed to find both girls in the trace lab.

"You are not going to believe what just happened." Hawkes said breathlessly. Both girls turned their attention to him.

"What's happened?"

"Laura and Flack. Well more like Laura shouting at Flack."

"Why?"

"Well he came in demanding to know what the results were and she just snapped. Got right in his face and then suddenly stepped back. No idea why."

"Uh oh." Stella said. Hawkes and Lindsey turned to look at her.

"What do you know?" Lindsey asked her. Stella started to fidget.

"Well he was the lead detective on a case I was working on a couple of weeks ago and he was normal Don. You know? Like he was before this whole FBI, undercover thing happened. We got back to the station with the suspect. Then he said something that wasn't like him at all. What was it…that's it he called a suspect a twat. Which was odd. Then he said, 'I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll go get my girlfriend in here and she can interrogate you. How does that sound?' Then the suspect laughed at him and asked who this girlfriend was. Flack said Laura. He remembers who she is. Has done for a while I think."

"So why hasn't he said anything to her?" Lindsey asked.

"Scared probably."

"That explains what happened at the crime scene and in the break room just now." Hawkes said.

"It does?" Stella asked.

"Yes. Laura saw it. Lets face it you shouldn't even try and lie to her. But Flack has been and today was the first time they've been at the same crime scene since he came back. She must have seen recognition. Uh oh."

"Yeah uh oh." Lindsey said. The three lapped into silence each wondering what Laura was going to do.


	22. What's all this niceness about?

_Why would he lie to me? That son of a bitch!_ Laura was pacing around her apartment trying to figure out why Flack would lie to her. _It's just not like him…but you don't even know who he is anymore. How often has he lied to you? Not that often…_Laura was losing the battle in her own head. After pacing around the room for a little longer Laura had made up her mind about what she was going to do. Walking out of her apartment she went back to the crime lab. Once arriving she began looking for Flack. She soon found him in the break room with everyone else. She cleared her throat and walked in.

"Excuse me? Detective?" Flack turned around and smiled at her.

"What can I do for you?"

"Actually I came in here to apologise you know for getting in your face before. Also I wanted to ask you a quick question?"

"Sure. What is it?" Laura grabbed a chair and put it right in front of Flack so that she could see directly into his eyes. He didn't back away.

"How long have you been able to remember?" Flack blinked a couple of times and then said, "Remember what exactly?" Laura tilted her head and didn't say a word. Flack started to fidget.

"I…uh…don't know what your on about." Flack broke eye contact with her and Laura smiled. Flack briefly looked at her and then dipped his head. "Why are you interrogating me?" he suddenly snapped staring at her. Laura had won; she stood up and walked away. The break room was in a shocked silence. Flack was even more shocked; he turned and looked at the team, "What just happened?"

"She found out you were lying. My only question is…how long _have_ you remembered?" Mac asked him.

"About three weeks. It's odd though. I started dreaming about her the night after we met in the hospital. Couldn't understand why. Then I was at a scene a few weeks ago and all of a sudden I remembered who she was."

"What triggered it?"

"I was looking at a telescope that the vic had. He had positioned it so that it was looking across the street." Flack shrugged his shoulders. "What should I expect now then?" he asked the team. Danny looked at the others and said, "No idea man. She didn't have the normal reaction that you'd expect from her. So my advice would be to expect the unexpected."

"I agree with Danny. Expect the unexpected." Stella said as she left the room to find Laura.

**A couple of days later:**

Laura was just about to finish her shift when Flack walked off the lift. She took in his appearance and shook her head. He looked immaculate except for his tie, which was tied completely wrong. She walked towards him and smiled. Flack braced himself. Laura reached up and pulled his tie loose and threw it around her neck and quickly tied it properly, pulled it off and handed it to Flack. He looked startled. "Uh…thank you?" he said worriedly.

"No problem. See you around." Laura said politely and headed towards the lift for home. As soon as she disappeared Flack ran into Mac's office gasping for breath.

"What's the matter with you?" Mac asked him.

"Laura just…she just…"

"Spit it out."

"She just tied my tie for me and didn't try to kill me with it." Flack answered clearly frightened.

"And this has you running into my office as if someone is chasing you?" Mac asked with a grin. Flack rolled his eyes.

"You don't understand. Since the other day she's been _nice_. She hasn't hit me; she hasn't shouted at me, she hasn't done anything! Its scaring me!" Mac startled to laugh. Flack frowned, "What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Oh nothing. Just that a 6ft 7 man is scared of 5ft 6 woman. It defies all logic." Mac said chuckling some more. Realising that he wasn't going to get any sympathy off Mac he left the glass office and went to find someone who would feel sorry for him. He was out of luck. The only person who even vaguely took it seriously was Sid.

"What do you think she'll do?"

"Well from what I've seen and heard I'll keep an extra long drawer empty. Just for you."

"Yeah. Thanks Sid. You don't really think this is all just some elaborate plot to scare the living daylights out of me, just so that I don't suspect?" Flack asked him. It was Sid's turn to start laughing.

"Wow. She really has you in a hold doesn't she?"

"I'm actually scared of her."

"Maybe you should try talking to her about it?" Sid suggested. Flack nodded and walked out of the morgue.

**A couple of months later:**

Flack was at his wits end. Laura was still being nice and not threatening bodily harm. Even the others were starting to worry. Laura walked into trace lab and Adam nearly jumped out of his skin, he even dropped a beaker he was holding.

"Adam you ok?"

"Yeah. You ok?"

"Yeah. Shouldn't I be?" she asked him puzzled. Before he answered they both turned around to see Flack standing in the doorway with a frightened look on his face.

"What's with the 'trapped in headlights' look?" Laura asked him and smiled. Flack shook his finger at her, "That! That's what!" Laura looked at him surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You know the smiling and the niceness. I don't like it. In fact it scares me." He said defiantly. Laura raised an eyebrow at him, "What's this really about?" she asked him.

"This is about you not being angry at me for lying. This is about you not hitting me when you found out! This…you being nice thing…I don't buy it."

"So you want me to scream at you as well as hit you? To make you feel better about lying to me?" she asked him. Flack stopped for a second and thought about it.

"Yes. I want you to scream at me and hit me." Adam took this second pause to escape from his lab. Laura just walked over to a chair and sat down.

"Well I'm not going to."

"What? Why not?" he asked her dumbfounded.

"Because its pointless. Sure it might make me feel better but it would only be momentary and I don't see the point of giving you a black eye."

"But…but…" he stammered.

"But…but…what?"

"I lied to you."

"Yes you did. But you know what? I don't care." Laura looked around and noticed that not only had Adam left but so had his assistants, "Look what you did. You scared off Adam and his assistants. Oh well gonna have to get my results after lunch. See ya around." Laura got off her chair and walked past Flack. All Flack could do was stare at her as she headed towards the lift.

**Barney's:**

"Hey man, can I have the usual?" Flack asked the bartender. The bartender looked at him and then at his watch, "Ain't it a bit early to be drinkin'?"

"Yeah. What's your point?"

"Nothin' man. Just asking." The bartender said as he gave Flack his drink. _She's driving me nuts! There must be some explanation!_ Flack undid his tie and rolled up his sleeves. It was now the height of summer in New York and everyone seemed to be struggling. This was why Flack had come into the bar after he had finished his late shift. It was only 10am and the temperature was in the 90's. He had decided to get a drink to cool down and he had ended up ordering a beer. Laura was still being nice and he still hated it with a firey passion. He had yet to discover why she was being so nice and not losing her temper.

**Down by the river:**

Laura and Mac had been called down to the river to investigate a floater when Laura had stripped off her shirt to reveal a blue vest top before she started to process the scene. Mac raised an eyebrow at her as she threw her shirt into her kit. Seeing the look Laura said, "Sorry Mac. It's too damn hot out here and its only 10am! I'm not used to this kind of weather yet. Although it does feel hotter than last year."

"What kind of weather do you get in England at this time of year?" Mac asked curiously.

"Rain." Laura replied simply. She had been looking at the tourist boat go past when she saw a person fall off the side. "Shit!" Before Mac knew what was happening Laura had ran down to the riverbank and jumped in. She quickly swam towards a person who was struggling to swim. Mac could now also hear screaming as he rushed to the side to help Laura get the person out of the river. As she neared Mac saw that the person was a teenage boy who appeared to be unconscious. Mac radioed for an EMT as Laura checked the boy over. When the EMT arrived the boy had regained consciousness but they decided to take him to the hospital just in case.

"You ok ma'am?" asked one of the paramedics. Laura nodded and said, "Yeah. Just a little wet."

"Ok. Do you know where the boys mother is?" Laura pointed towards the tourist boat, which had come to a stop as soon as the boy had fallen.

"Ok. We'll let her know where he's going and she can meet him there." The paramedic left and headed back to the ambulance. Laura turned to Mac and asked, "How is he gonna tell the mother from there?"

"All of the tourist boats have a radio, obviously, he'll just change the frequency and tell the captain." Laura nodded in understanding and then asked, "Mind if I head back to the lab to shower and change?"

"No. I'll finish up here." Laura smiled and headed towards her Mini.

**Back at the lab:**

Laura had had her shower and was getting changed when she realised that she felt a little cold. _Hm must be from getting out of the shower_ she thought to herself. She quickly got dressed and went to find Mac.

**A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews. Please keep em comin'. I made Laura be nice to him because I thought that would make Flack go nuts. I promise to try and do another couple of chapters today. So that we can find out what's going on. Thanks again.**


	23. Queens

It had been a couple of days since Laura had dived into the river to save the boy when she started to get a runny nose. _Typical! Only I would get a cold in the middle of summer!_ She thought to herself bitterly. She was now sitting in the break room waiting for another crime to take place when Flack came in. He noticed that she didn't look well.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just got a little cold that's all."

"You have a cold?" he asked sceptically.

"Yes. From saving that kid from the river." She snapped at him. Flack smiled. _Finally back to normal_ he thought to himself.

"Ah I heard about that. Fighting crime isn't enough for you? Now you have to be a superhero too?" he asked her laughing. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Look leave me alone. Anyone would have done it."

"No. Just someone stupid. Do you have any idea what's in that river?" Laura stood up and went to walk past him before she stopped and said, "Yeah. Your dead body if you ain't careful." Then she slapped him upside his head. Flack just smiled at her as she walked out of the break room. He was still smiling when he remembered why he had to talk to her.

"Hey! Laura wait up!" Flack said as he jogged up to her. She groaned and turned around to face him, "What now city boy?" Flack raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything about what she had called him instead he said, "You got a homicide in Queens. I'm drivin'."

"Probably a good idea. I feel like crap. Give me a second to get my kit and coat." Flack raised his eyebrow again and said, "Ok. See you at the front." Laura waved her hand behind her to indicate that she had heard him. A couple of minutes Laura was sitting in the SUV that Flack had pulled up in, when she realised this wasn't the one he normally drove. She sat up a little straighter and said, "This isn't yours. Where's yours?" Flack chuckled.

"Sold it and got my bike."

"Why? What bike?"

"Didn't see the point of having a big car when I can weave in and out of traffic on a bike. You've seen my bike. It's the red one that sits outside our apartment building." Laura looked at him in surprise. "So that really is yours?" she asked him sceptically. He nodded "Why is that so surprising?"

"Well…uh…you never once mentioned that you liked bikes when we were…uh…together. Surprised me that's all." She said blushing and started looking out the window. Flack just smiled and carried on driving.

**Queens:**

"Wow. I haven't been around here in years." Flack muttered as he drove to the crime scene. Laura raised an eyebrow but didn't turn away from the window. When they arrived Hawkes was already there. _How does he do that?_ Laura thought to herself.

"What we got?" she asked him and promptly sneezed.

"Bless you. Does this look familiar?" Hawkes asked them. Laura looked and it did indeed look familiar. There were gunshot wounds to the head, chest and abdomen. Laura sighed. They hadn't caught the killer the last time and now he had struck again. "Yeah. Just a little bit." Flack had been staring at the body when Laura said, "City boy? What's the matter?"

"Don't call me that!" he snapped at her. Laura just looked at him and shrugged her shoulders and started to photograph the body when she noticed a tattoo on the back of his right shoulder. She frowned. _I've seen that before but where?_ Laura was busy trying to remember where she had seen that tattoo before when it suddenly hit her. _I've put scratches through that tattoo. Shit!_ Laura turned her attention to Flack who still hadn't stopped staring. She grabbed his arm and said to Hawkes, "Could you finish up here? I need to talk to him for a second?"

"Yeah." Hawkes took the camera off Laura and carried on photographing the scene. Laura dragged Flack away from the scene where they could be alone. She looked around and determining that they were in fact alone, she made Flack sit down. She looked at him and said softly, "Blue?" Flack looked up with tears in his eyes. She knelt down in front of him and said, "Who is he?"

"He…uh…was my best friend in high school. We…uh…got those tattoo on the day we graduated. I can't even remember getting mine." He laughed at the memory.

"What's his name?"

"Michael Evans." Flack took a deep breath and stood up. "Guess I'd better go tell his mother."

"Want me to come?" she asked him before pulling him into a hug. Flack couldn't keep it in anymore and started to cry into her shoulder. Laura made shushing noises and rubbed his back. After five minutes Flack straightened and let of Laura and wiped his eyes. "So you want me to come with you Blue?" Flack nodded. "Ok. Let me go tell Hawkes. He's probably processed the scene already. You know I'm beginning to think that guy is Superman." Laura said smiling; she looked at Flack and saw the beginnings of a smile. _Close enough_ she thought to herself. Laura jogged over to Hawkes and told him that they were going to go tell the family. She never mentioned that Flack knew the vic or his family. "Do you mind processing the scene yourself?" she asked him.

"No. I don't mind. Is he ok?" Hawkes asked inclining his head towards Flack.

"He will be." Laura said and then jogged back to Flack. "Lets go. Superman's on the scene." They climbed into the SUV and Flack seemed to be on autopilot. They had been driving for around five minutes when he stopped the car. Laura looked at him. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Lets get this over with." Flack got out of the car and the pair made their way up some concrete steps and Flack took a deep breath before knocking on a red door.

**Sandy Evans house:**

A plumpish woman opened the door just as Laura sneezed. "Bless you dear."

"Thank you ma'am." Laura looked at the woman. She had greying hair and green eyes. She was wearing dark trousers and a bright red top with an apron that was covered in flour. Flack just stood there.

"Can I help you?" asked the woman. Laura nudged Flack but he still didn't speak. Laura took a deep breath. "Erm yes. We're from the NYPD, I'm detective Laura Turner and this is detective Don Flack Jnr." The woman squinted at Flack and then suddenly pulled him into a bear hug. "Donnie Jnr! Why didn't you say so? Come on in." she bustled them into the house and as she closed the door Flack looked at it as if he were a tiger trapped in a cage.

"Can I get you anything? I just made chocolate chip cookies. They're my son's favourites. Donnie he should be home soon. Your both welcome to stay for dinner if you like." She walked into the kitchen and shouted through "Donnie does your mother know you're here?" Flack groaned out loud before replying "No Sandy. We're here on official police business." Sandy came out of the kitchen carrying a plate with cookies on. "What's he done now?" she demanded "I swear that boy is going to send me to an early grave." Flack looked at her and shook his head before leaning towards Laura, "I can't do this." Laura took his hand and gave it gentle squeeze before turning her attention to the woman opposite her. She took a deep breath. "Mrs Evans. I'm very sorry to be the one to tell you this but I'm afraid your son has been killed. I'm very sorry." Sandy just stared at her before looking at Flack with pleading eyes, "Donnie…please…tell me it isn't true." Flack shook his head, "I'm sorry. I can't do that." Flack stood up and walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. Laura just sat there in silence. After five minutes they pulled apart and she said, "Please get the person who did this to my son."

"We will. I promise." Laura said from her place on the couch. Laura sneezed again and groaned. "Bless you and thank you." Sandy turned her attention to Flack and said, "You'd better go and see your mother. You know she has her spies everywhere. Especially since your brothers don't visit her that much anymore."

"Why not?"

"They got into an argument. Your daddy said some things, your brothers said some things and now they don't speak." Flack groaned out loud again, "Why don't you take this young lady with you?" Sandy said winking at him. Laura started to fiddle with the buttons on her coat pretending she hadn't heard. When they left Sandy's house an hour later with a bag full of cookies Laura looked at Flack out of the corner of her eye. He'd been silent for the rest of their time at the house.

"Should we head back to the lab?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"No. Sandy's right. My mother has spies everywhere. What day is it today?"

"Wednesday why?" Laura asked puzzled.

"Ah. That means its corned beef Wednesday. Do you want to come?" he asked her sheepishly.

"Yeah. They've probably left the scene already."

"Ok then. Lets go." They climbed into the SUV and drove for another five minutes until they pulled up outside an old Victorian style house. Laura looked at it in awe. It looked so quaint and homely.

**Flack family home:**

"You ready?" Flack asked Laura.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She replied smiling at him. He took a deep breath and walked into the house. The house was silent. He frowned.

"Ma!" he called into the house. They heard a shuffling through the room to the left and a voice said, "Donnie?"

"Yeah ma. Its me." He walked into the room and Laura followed a couple of steps behind him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"Work. But I thought I'd come and see how you were. I brought a friend with me." Flack held his hand out and pulled Laura from behind him, "Ma this is Laura. Laura meet Anna Flack." Laura held out her hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too dear." Laura looked at her. She had blue eyes that seemed to sparkle when she spoke. _That must be where he gets it from_ Laura thought to herself and sneezed again.

"Are you ok dear?"

"Yes. Thank you ma'am."

"Please call me Anna. Donnie rarely brings his friends over." she looked past Laura and shouted "DONALD! Come down here!" Flack looked up at the ceiling as he heard his father moving around upstairs. A couple of seconds later a tall man with dark hair came into the room. Laura gasped. Anna stood up and whispered, "Yes he does look like his father. Except he has my eyes." She smiled mischievously at Laura. "Donald this Laura. Laura this Donald Flack Snr."

"Nice to meet you sir." Laura smiled and held out her hand. He took her hand and kissed it, which made her blush. "Nice to meet you Laura." He turned to his son, "What are you doing here?"

"Work."

"Ah how is the old NYPD?"

"Ya know." He shrugged his shoulders and his mother slapped him on the back of the head, "What was that for ma?"

"How many times have I told you to talk properly Donald." Flack flinched. He hated being called Donald. Laura stood and watched the family _I wish my family was like this_ she thought to herself wistfully. Laura sneezed again and groaned.

"Are you sure your alright dear?" Anna asked her worriedly.

"Yes thank you Anna. Its just a cold."

"How do you get a cold in the middle of this heat?" asked Donald Snr. Flack smirked at her.

"I…uh…jumped into the river to save a boy from drowning." Laura said shuffling her feet in embarrassment.

"Do you have any idea what's in that river?" he asked her. Laura looked up at him and then at Flack who was trying not to laugh.

"Yes sir." _Your son is going to be there if he doesn't stop laughing_ she thought to herself.

"Well I think it was very brave. You saved that boys life." Anna said and then rounded on her son, "Why didn't you do it?" and she slapped him on the shoulder.

"Because ma…number one _I_ know what's in that river and two I wasn't even there!"

"Hm." Just then Laura's beeper went off. She looked at it and then said, "Excuse me." She smiled and walked out of the little room and outside.

"I like her." Anna said to her son and smiled as she walked into the kitchen. Laura rang the lab.

"_Hawkes_."

"Hey Hawkes. It's Laura. What's up?"

"_We found additional trace on the body and we think we have a suspect. We need you to interrogate him in your own special way._" Laura looked back at the house and groaned silently.

"Ok. Give me an hour." Laura shut off her phone and went back into the house. She walked into the room. "Sorry about that. We have a suspect. I have to go and interrogate him."

"They let women interrogate now?" Donald Snr said.

"Yeah Pa. Laura's the best. I'm sorry but we gotta go. I'm her lift."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that. It was a pleasure meeting you. Come back anytime and I could tell you some stories." Anna said giving Laura a hug as Flack groaned.

"It was nice meeting you to." Laura said smiling. Donald stood up, "It was very nice meeting you. Make sure he doesn't get in any trouble." He said pointing his thumb at his son.

"Don't worry sir. I will." She said laughing. Flack said goodbye to his parents and they headed back to the lab.

**An hour later:**

Laura walked into the interrogation room and sat there. After half an hour Laura came back out looking thoroughly disgruntled. Hawkes and Flack came out from the other little room where they were watching.

"Its not him." Laura said begrudgingly. "But you can still lock him up for all the other stuff he confessed to." Flack nodded and went into the interrogation room. Laura sighed out loud and promptly sneezed.

"You should go and see a doctor." Hawkes said.

"Na. I'll be alright. It's just a cold. I'll live." She said laughing and headed back to the lab where her cold medicine was.


	24. Proposal

Laura was searching for Lindsey when she bumped into Danny. "Hey Danny you seen Lindsey?"

"Montana? No. She's…uh…pissed at me." He said sheepishly. Laura tilted her head to the side and said, "What you done now?"

"Well I…uh…kinda…askedhertomarryme." He stringed the last few words together but Laura got what he was saying. She beamed at him and then frowned before sneezing. She was now always wearing a coat and jumper. She looked like she was ready to go to the Artic.

"So why is she pissed if you…oomph…" Danny had put his hand over mouth and pulled her into the nearest cupboard. Laura looked around and frowned.

"She's pissed because I didn't exactly do it 'the right way' or something. I need help." Danny turned pleading eyes on her.

"Well how did you do it?"

"I asked her over pizza." Danny said as if it was the most natural thing in the world, which caused him to get a head slap from Laura.

"Let me think and I'll get back to ya. Now where is she?"

"Don't know. Why you need her for?"

"We got a case and I need to ask her something." Laura was about to walk out of the cupboard when Adam opened it and looked at the pair.

"What?"

"Its not what it looks like!" Danny shouted. Laura rolled her eyes and walked out then Danny came out of the cupboard a couple of seconds later. A couple of minutes later Laura found Lindsey.

"Finally! Where you been?" she asked her.

"I've been hiding from Danny. What's up?"

"We got a scene to process or something. I actually wanted to ask you something."

"Sure. What's up?"

"Well you know this cold that I have? I was wondering if you knew of some other way that I can get shot of it. It's driving me up the wall!" she asked Lindsey blushing.

"Erm have you tried hot honey and lemon?" Laura nodded. "What about whiskey and lemonade." Laura nodded again. "Let me have a think and I'll get back to you. But from the sounds of it you may have to go to the doctors." Laura groaned and shivered. _That's a new one_ she thought to herself.

"Lets go to this scene. On the way you can tell why your avoiding Danny." Laura laughed at her expression. They sat in the car silently when all of a sudden Lindsey screeched; "He is such an idiot sometimes!"

"What's he done?"

"He proposed in the most New Yorker kind of way!" Laura raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "He asked me…get this…over pizza!"

"Do you love him?"

"Of course I do!"

"So what's the problem?"

"Well…there's a right way and there's a wrong way ya know?" Lindsey said sadly.

"Nope. Can't say that I do. Never happened to me."

"Really?" Lindsey asked in astonishment. Laura just looked at her suspiciously.

"Yeah. Seriously. What do you know?"

"Are you telling me that Flack never?"

"That's what I'm telling you." Laura looked at her suspiciously again. Lindsey fell silent. Laura took a deep breath. "Ok. So what would be the 'right' way for you?"

"I don't know. Maybe a nice meal with a walk on the beach afterwards." Laura raised an eyebrow. "Then you know…he would get down on one knee and ask me. It would be so romantic." She sighed happily. Laura just smiled and got to work. It had been a couple of weeks since Danny had told Laura about his proposal when Mac called everyone into his office. Danny looked around the office before turning towards Mac, "Ok Mac. No-one is missing so what's up?" Mac rolled his eyes before replying,

"We all need a break. So I've booked us into a villa…in Maui."

"Maui!" Laura said excitedly and then started jumping up and down, "When we going?"

"In a month. It should still be nice and warm." Mac turned to Stella, "Stel you had better start packing now." He said laughing. Stella just frowned at him and walked out of his office smiling. Everyone walked out all happy about the upcoming holiday. Danny grabbed Laura's arm.

"Why are you so happy?"

"Because you're going to propose to Lindsey in Maui. Duh." Laura said smiling and she grinned even more when Danny finally got it. So the pair started to make plans for Lindsey's special proposal. A few days later Laura was sitting in the break room shivering when Flack came in and handed her his tie. They had been doing this ever since Laura had done it the first time and not killed him with it. She was shivering that much that she could barely hold his tie let alone tie it. After her fourth attempt at trying to tie it Flack took it back and then took her hands, "Jesus. You're cold. How long have you been feeling like this?" he asked her concerned.

"A…a…couple…couple…of days." She said through chattering teeth. As she had said this Stella walked in and said, "Go home. Your no good to us if you can't hold a test tube let alone go out in the field." Since this had been happening Mac had gradually made sure that Laura didn't go out in the field but was in the lab doing analysis. Since she couldn't do this anymore Stella was now sending her home.

"I…I…can…manage. I'm just a little cold that's all." Laura complained.

"Ok." Stella walked over to the coffee machine and poured a cup out and walked back to the table, "Hold this steady for a couple of minutes. If you can do this then you can stay. If not you're going home. Deal?" Laura nodded and took a hold of the cup. Within seconds there was coffee all over the table.

"Go home. I'll tell Mac." Stella said sternly and left the little room. Laura huffed loudly and turned to Flack, seeing his look she said, "Fine! I'm going!" Laura got up in her Artic weather gear and walked towards the lift. As she got in she got a message. She opened her phone and then everything went black.

**A/N: I got a request for more D/L. I'm sorry for not including more but I promise there will be. If there are any more suggestions on anything please feel free to suggest them. Also very sorry for not updating sooner. Started a new job and there was of course bonfire night hehe.**


	25. Not well at all

The sergeant on the front desk turned when he heard the elevator ding to announce that someone was getting out. Out of habit he waited to see which person it was, when no one came by he got up from behind his desk and peered around the corner to where the elevators were. To his surprise he saw a young woman lying on the floor. Gasping he hurried over to see if she was all right.

"Miss?" he asked timidly. He didn't know how to react to this kind of situation. _Maybe she didn't hear me_ he thought to himself. He cleared his throat and said louder, "Miss?" he frowned. Deciding to check for a pulse he pulled down the collar of her coat and frowned _how many coats does this woman have on?_ He wondered to himself. Finally getting to her neck he quickly found her pulse to be thready. Deciding on a course of action he pulled the woman out of the elevator and hurried to his desk phone.

"Yes. I would like an ambulance to the crime lab building." He listened to the woman on the other end, "Yes. She has a pulse. I think she collapsed in the elevator." Again he listened, "She already has enough coats on to warm the Artic." A couple of seconds, "Ok. I will let her boss know. Thank you." He put the phone down and picked it up again. He quickly dialled Mac's office. It just rang, "Come on pick up. Pick up." He muttered under his breath. Suddenly the phone was picked up.

"_Bonesera_."

"Detective? I believe I have one of your employees lying on the floor in front of my desk."

"_Excuse me? What are you on about?_"

"Come down and see ma'am. An ambulance is on the way." He put the phone down and waited. He didn't have to wait long. Stella came bounding out of the elevator a couple of minutes later and hurried to Laura's side.

"Jesus Christ. What happened?" she asked the sergeant.

"I don't know ma'am. I heard the ding and when no one came out I went to investigate and saw her lying on the floor. I pulled her out here in case someone called for the elevator. I phoned for an ambulance it should be here in the next couple of minutes."

"Good." Stella noticed that Laura was holding her phone, pulling it out of her hand she read the message _Text me when you get home safely. Blue xx_ Stella frowned and pulled out her own phone. It was picked up after the second ring.

"_Flack._"

"You'd better get down to the lobby. Laura never made it out of the building." Stella hung up the phone. Two minutes later the stair door opened and Flack came out.

"Damn that was quick. How did you do that?" Stella asked him amazed. Flack just shrugged and knelt down beside Laura. Holding her hand he tried to rub some heat into it. "She's really cold." Before Stella could say anything ambulance personnel came into the building and started tending to Laura. A young woman put a thermometer into Laura's mouth, waited a couple of seconds and pulled it out.

"She has a fever of a hundred and two. Lets get her to the hospital."

"How can she have a fever if she's freezing?" Flack asked dumbfounded. Puzzled the woman held Laura's hand and almost dropped it in shock.

"He's right. She feels like death warmed up. Lets get her out of here stat." The woman and her partner lifted Laura onto a stretcher and carried her out to the ambulance. Flack ran out after them.

**At the hospital:**

They had arrived at the hospital in record time when a tall doctor with dark hair and eyes stopped Flack from following the stretcher.

"She's in good hands sir. I'll let you know what's happening as soon as I know." He smiled and followed the stretcher down the hall. A couple of hours later the doctor came into the waiting room. Flack stood up and asked him, "How is she?"

"She's fine. Well she will be. I've put her on IV antibiotics. It would help if I knew how she got the fever or when she first started showing symptoms of a cold."

"It was a while ago. She jumped into the river to save a boy from drowning."

"Does she even know what's in that river?" the doctor rolled his eyes and then said, "That must be where she got it from then. Might have swallowed some water. Well thanks for letting me know. She should be awake in the next couple of hours. Your more than welcome to wait." Flack frowned. He hadn't even voiced his questions before the doctor answered them.

**Two hours later:**

The doctor that Laura had bumped into walked into her room.

"Hello Laura. Again." he smiled at her. Laura looked at him.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

"Yes. I was the one you bumped into, literally, when you were looking for Dr Pullman."

"Ah. Now I remember. So what's wrong with me doc?"

"You've got a fever and the chills. I've put you on IV antibiotics. You'll be here for a couple of days. Yes you will be fine by the time you go to Maui." He smiled at her again as she frowned at him.

"What's your name?" she asked him.

"Peter."

"That's it? Just Peter?" she asked him sceptically.

"Yes. That's all you need to know."

"Ok. If you say so doc." Laura smiled at him as he left. Flack came in a couple of minutes later.

"Hey city boy." Laura greeted him.

"Hey yourself. Stella says she's sorry she's not here but she was called out to a scene."

"Not a problem. Listen I'm going to go stir crazy so I need a favour."

"What's that?" he asked her worriedly.

"Could you bring me something to do?"

"I'll see what I can do." He smiled at her and they chatted for a couple of more hours until Laura fell asleep. After a couple of days Laura was discharged from the hospital as her fever seemed to be abating and she was given some other antibiotics to take. Flack had picked her up and insisted that she stay at his place in case she needed anything. She had argued but soon gave up once she realised that he wasn't going to leave her alone. Laura had taken a couple of her antibiotics when she started to throw up.

"Blue!" she screamed from the bathroom. Flack came rushing into the little bathroom and took in her appearance. She was sweaty with her hair sticking to her forehead and she looked very pale.

"Laura? What is it?"

"I'm feeling really hot." She muttered and promptly threw up again. Flack rushed into the corridor and quickly dialled a number.

"_Hello?_" came a voice groggy with sleep.

"Ma?"

"_Donnie? What is it?_" enquired Anna Flack.

"Its Laura. She's not well and I don't know what to do. Could you come down here? Please?" he practically begged his mother.

"_We'll be right there. What are her symptoms?_"

"She's sweaty. She's been in hospital with a fever and shivers but she was getting over it. The doc gave her some antibiotics when she left she seemed fine. Now she's hot, shivering and throwing up."

"_Ok. Put her head under a cold shower but keep the rest of her nice and warm until we get there. We'll let ourselves in._" Anna Flack hung up the phone and ran into his bedroom and pulled the quilt off his bed and went into the bathroom. Once inside he wrapped Laura in the quilt and moved her next to the bath where she slumped against the side. Pulling the showerhead down he turned on the cold water and started to wet Laura's hair with it when she sighed in relief. Fifteen minutes later Flack heard his mother come through the door armed with what appeared to be a doctor's bag.

"Step away Donnie let me look at her. Your father is in the living room. Go on. I'll call you if I need anything." Flack walked out of the bathroom and into the living room where his father was standing with a cup of coffee already made. After five minutes his mother walked into the living room.

"She should be fine. I think she reacted badly to the antibiotics. I've got her back into bed but I want to call the doctor out to change her meds. Then I'm suggesting we take her back to Queens where I can keep an eye on her." She held up her hand, as her son was about to protest. "It would also mean you can go to work without worrying about her. Now I'm going to call the doctor and get him out here." She walked away before either of the pair could say anything. Flack walked into his room and just sat next to Laura. He must have fallen asleep as the next thing he knew his mother was waking him up.

"The doctor just left. He's prescribed some different antibiotics and some antinausea medication. Now we're going to stay here tonight and then take her home with us in the morning. You should get some sleep." She smiled kindly at her son and walked out of his bedroom. Sighing he climbed into the bed and pulled Laura closer to him so that he could give her some of his body heat and that was the way he woke up a couple of hours later.

**A/N: Hey everyone. I should be able to update a couple of more chapters tomorrow, as I have no work to go to. Also thanks for all the reviews. Lovin' them so please keep em comin'. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter. I will get Laura up and running again I promise and then they're all off to Maui and a couple of surprises will be in store hehe.**


	26. Haircut

The following day Laura was moved to Queens so that she could recuperate. Over the next couple of days all she did was sleep until one night she woke up screaming and being unable to breath.

"BLUE!!! HELP ME!!!" Laura was tossing and turning in her sleep when Anna Flack came running into her older son's old bedroom. She hurried over to the bed and tried comfort the distraught woman.

"Its alright, its alright. Your safe…Shhh…" Laura suddenly sat upright and ripped her necklace from around her throat and threw it away from herself.

"I…can't…breath…get it off!" Laura gasped as she tried to pull at her hair that was clinging to her neck. Anna moved her hair back, "Please cut it all off…please…" Laura whimpered. Once she had finally calmed her down Anna walked down the hall to a little table that held a phone. She picked it up and dialled. After a couple of rings it was picked up.

"_Flack._"

"Donnie…"

"_Is she alright?_" Anna smiled slightly. Her son really did care about this woman.

"She's fine. But she just woke up screaming for help from someone named Blue I think it was. Any idea who that is?"

"_Yeah. That's me. I'll be there in a couple of hours. What's she doing now? How is she feeling generally?_"

"She's sleeping but she wants to get her hair cut. Says she can't breath. She'll be fine in another couple of days I would imagine. Keeps telling your father that she loves him." Anna chortled.She could just imagine her son's look of confusion. "We'll see you in a couple of hours." She hung up the phone and went back to bed.

**A couple of hours later:**

Flack had just arrived at his mother's house and was about to go inside when the door opened for him. There stood his father in sweatpants and an old NYPD t-shirt. It was just then that Flack realised just how much he did look like his father, of course he had his mothers' eyes.

"Hello son." The older man greeted the younger version of himself.

"I didn't mean to wake you." The man waved his hand dismissively before saying, "Its ok. Your girlfriend has been keeping me awake with her tossing and turning."

"Sorry again." Flack dipped his head. "She's not my girlfriend. She's just…a friend. That's all." The older Flack raised an eyebrow and the pair walked into the living room. Flack smiled, as the room hadn't changed since he was a child growing up in this house. It still had the blue and white striped wallpaper on the walls. The only thing that had really changed were the photos that were dotted around the room on the walls and the television set. Since Donald Flack Snr had retired he had become obsessed with technology, however he still didn't trust computers and refused to get one. However he did like his big, flat screen TV and DVD player that could record. The pair sat in silence when they heard a low moan coming from upstairs. Flack looked up and without saying a word he wondered upstairs towards his old room. Lying on the bed was Laura. She seemed to fit in nicely with his room. It looked like she had been there for years. Suddenly she started to gasp for air and started to claw at her neck. Flack hurried over and grabbed her hands to stop herself from doing damage to herself. Holding both of her hands in one of his big ones he leaned over and turned on the little bedside lamp with his other hand. Laura instantly recoiled and turned away from the light. He noticed that she had a thin red mark going around her neck and what appeared to be scratches. Making a mental note to ask his mother how that had happened he climbed onto the bed and pulled her close to him so that he could hold her properly. Once they were both comfortable he leaned backwards and turned off the little light. Flack woke up early the following morning and went downstairs. Laura was still sleeping as she had finally stopped trying to claw at her neck at around 4am. He wondered into the little kitchen and was surprised to see his mother already up and making breakfast. She turned around and smiled at her son, "Good morning Donnie. Breakfast?"

"Please Ma."

"I didn't hear you come in last night."

"It was late. Sat and talked to Dad for a while and then went to bed. Has she really been keeping you awake?" Anna just looked at her son and then turned her attention back to making breakfast.

"Come on now Donnie. You know I used to be a nurse so a person keeping me up doesn't bother me. And I know your father doesn't mind. He doesn't say it but he likes her. We both do." She looked at her son out of the corner of her eye as she put his breakfast on a plate. "How is she this morning?"

"Sleeping…finally. She was tossing and turning all night. Not to mention trying to claw at her neck. By the way what's that thin line off?"

"Her necklace. She pulled it off. Said it was choking her. She can't breath properly and she's convinced that she's suffocating. Wants to get her hair cut off. Not going to do it of course. Wait and see how she feels about it later on." Flack nodded and continued to eat his breakfast.

**Later that morning:**

_I hate mornings!_ I thought to myself. I should really get up and get some housework done. I groaned again and opened my eyes a fraction. _Why do my eyelids feel heavy?_ I wondered to myself. Not being able to see much I opened my eyes as far as I could get them too without the sunlight hurting them. _What the…?_ I frowned. This wasn't my room. I struggled to sit up a little bit to try and take in my own surroundings. The room was decorated in a creamy colour with one wall being bright blue. _Greek blue_ I thought to myself, _really need to learn the colour of that…that's not the point! I am in a stranger's bedroom! Where the hell am I?_ I heard a noise and turned my head towards it. When no one came through the door I swung my legs over the side of the bed and gingerly put my feet on the floor. The floor felt cold under my feet. I hauled myself to my feet and stood for a couple of seconds until the room stopped spinning. I walked over to the mirror that was above a chest of drawers and looked at my reflection. I looked like I had been pulled through a hedge backwards and that I had gone ten rounds with boxer. I frowned again as I noticed a thin red mark around my neck. _What the hell has happened to me?_ I thought to myself. My stomach suddenly started to growl and I realised that I was hungry. I opened the door quietly and checking the corridor I walked out and down the stairs. At the bottom I froze when I heard voices coming from down the little hallway. Making my way along I pushed open the door a fraction and peered inside. I sighed in relief when I saw who it was and pushed the door all the way open and stepped over the threshold.

"Good morning Laura. Would you like some breakfast?" asked Anna. I smiled and nodded.

"What no 'I love you' this morning?" asked Donald. I frowned at him confused. "You've been telling me every morning that you love me. Must have me confused with this one," he said pointing his head towards Flack. I just shrugged my shoulders and turned my attention to Flack.

"Morning. How are you feeling?" I shook my hand in a 50/50 manner. Nodding he stood up and walked towards me and led me towards the chair he had just vacated. Anna put down some toast in front of me. After a couple of bites and everyone staring at me I said, "What?"

"Nothing. I'm just pleased you're eating. You haven't eaten in four days." Anna said smiling.

"Four days? I've been here four days?"

"Yes. Jnr over there rang us four days ago very worried. We brought you here so that Anna could keep an eye on you."

"What happened?" I asked them.

"Your fever spiked. You reacted badly to the meds that the doc gave you. A different doc gave you different meds and you've been out for four days since. Apart from the screaming of course." Flack answered looking confused. I nodded my head in understanding even though I didn't have a clue what was going on.

"When can I go back to work?" I asked. Flack laughed and turned to his parents, "What did I tell you? The second she wakes up she asks when she can go back to work."

"Ok son. You were right." Flack Snr turned his attention back to me and said, "Now young lady how are you feeling really?"

"You know…tired, a little bit shaky but loads better than before." Anna sat down beside me and gave me two little white pills. I looked at the pills and then at Anna in confusion.

"They're your meds."

"How have you…?" I trailed off.

"With great difficulty. The first day I tried you refused to open your mouth long enough to give you them. Then I asked Donald to help me. You took one look at him and did as you were told." Anna said smiling at her. I blushed and started to apologise profusely. Donald held up his hand to stop the turrets of 'I'm so sorry' and just smiled at her. "You'll be staying here another night…just in case. Donnie here will pick you up after he's finished work tomorrow. No arguments." Anna continued and gave me a stern look. _So that's where he gets it from_ I thought to myself. I held my hands up in surrender, "Yes ma'am." I said and smiled. A couple of minutes later Flack went to work and Laura and Anna sat in the kitchen chatting.

**The following morning:**

Laura got up much quicker than she had the following day and was she was getting decidedly better every day. When she got downstairs Anna had already made her some toast to eat and there was another woman sitting next to Anna.

"Laura this is the hairdresser."

"Ah yes. Good morning." Laura said smiling.

"Mornin'. After you've finished your breakfast we'll cut your hair." The woman smiled at Laura as she ate her breakfast. Once Laura was finished Laura walked into the middle of the kitchen floor and sat at the chair that was already set out ready.

"How would you like your hair cut this morning?"

"Short. Bob please. Just below my ears."

"Ok." the woman said. After an hour Laura's hair was now short. As her hair fell in front of her face she pushed it behind her ears and smiled.

"I like it. How much do I owe you?"

"Oh don't worry about it. Just make sure that our little Donnie is happy. That's all I ask." Laura looked at her confused. "I'm his aunt. Names Paula. I'm Donald's sister."

"Nice to meet you ma'am."

"Believe me it was my pleasure Laura. I've heard so much about you. You know in all this time I have never known Donnie to bring a girl home. He must really like you." Laura blushed and said, "I'm not sure about that. We're just friends really. Although I do appreciate what everyone has done for me." Paula raised an eyebrow and said, "Just friends? Yeah ok. If you say so." She said smiling. Looking at her watch she said, "I'm sorry Anna but I gotta motor. Laura it was lovely meeting you. See you soon." Paula got up and left and a couple of seconds later the front door closed. The two women spent the rest of the day chatting again with the occasional comment from Donald. At half six that night Flack came in. Laura was sitting next to his mother on the couch while they were watching _Law and Order_. He cleared his throat, "Ma? Is Laura in bed?" Laura turned and looked at Flack and said, "No I'm right here. Couldn't you see me sitting here?" she asked him slightly annoyed.

"No…I…uh…"

"Spit it out city boy." Flack frowned at her.

"No I just didn't recognise you with short hair that's all." Laura stood up and walked up to him.

"What do you think?" she asked him nervously. He looked her up and down and then walked around her as she stood still. She started to fidget. Finally he stopped in front of her and said, "I like it. Its different." He smiled at her and Laura playfully hit him on the arm.

"Thank you." Laura walked back over to the couch and continued to watch the TV.

**A/N: This chapter was mainly filler. Needed to get Laura up and running again. Next chapter will have her going back to work and her and Danny thinking of something for Maui. I was going to be cruel and call Paula, Daisy originally but I decided against it lol. Thanks for all the reviews please keep em comin' with suggestions and what not.**


	27. Bikini's and shopping

Within a couple of days Laura was back at work. Everyone seemed to like her new look and Stella even managed to persuade her to get some red streaks put into her hair to give it some sparkle. Laura had been back barely two hours when Danny was looking for her.

"I need help!"

"Well the first step is admitting it." Laura said smiling. He just frowned at her.

"I need it to be perfect."

"What needs to be perfect?" she asked him confused.

"My proposal for Montana."

"Oh yeah. Sorry. Well you know what she wants. How is that going to be difficult in Maui of all places?"

"Well it's not that. It's everyone else. How am I going to get rid of them so that I can propose?"

"Don't worry. I'll think of something. We just need to work out some sort of signal so that I can motor." Laura frowned. Danny looked at her funny. "What?"

"Since when do you say motor?"

"Since I heard Flack's aunt Paula say it. Its very odd."

"So you met aunt Paula did you?"

"Yeah. She's the one who cut my hair. Why?" Laura asked him suspiciously.

"Oh nothin'. Flack don't really like her that much that's all."

"He wasn't there. She seemed nice. Why doesn't he like her?"

"You'll have to ask him." Danny said pointing to Flack who was approaching them. Laura nodded and then smiled once Flack had approached the pair.

"Hey guys. What?" Flack asked them suspiciously. Danny turned to Laura and said; "You know somethin' he's been hangin' around you way to much."

"What's that meant to mean?"

"Well he's all suspicious now." Laura looked at Flack and then back at Danny before replying, "He's _meant_ to be suspicious. He's a cop." Flack had been watching the exchange and decided to interrupt.

"Actually I wanted to talk to Laura. I need her advise on something." Danny looked at Flack and said, "What kind of advice? I might be able to help."

"Not likely." Danny looked like someone had taken away his favourite snack food and left the pair. Laura turned to Flack and said, "So what kind of advice do you need?"

"Well it's not for me. Its for a friend."

"A friend?" she said sceptically. _He's lying. I know he is_ she thought to herself. _I'll play along for now_.

"Yes a friend. See this friend has this other friend that he really and I mean _really_ likes. Only he doesn't know what to do about it."

"Ok. Well, personally, I would tell this friend of yours to tell his friend that he likes this other friend. You never know they might feel the same way." She frowned as she had somehow managed to get quite confused.

"But what if she doesn't feel the same way about him?"

"There's no harm in asking. I mean the worst she can say is 'I'm sorry I just don't see you that way'. Or you know even worse 'I'm seeing someone else'. Is she seeing someone else?"

"Not that I know of." Laura pondered her answer before saying, "Hm. You know something screw it…"

"What?" Laura looked him straight in the face and said, "I like you. In fact I more than just like you. I really like you." Flack looked at her startled before breaking out into a grin.

"I like you too." Laura smiled and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Once they broke apart for air Laura smiled and said, "Now that we've got that sorted. I need to tell you something that I may need your help with."

"Ok. What is it?"

"Not here. How about we go out for dinner later?"

"Yeah ok." Laura walked away from him surprised that the entire lab hadn't seen their little reunion. She was almost at the elevator when a thought struck her; she turned back to where Flack was standing talking to a uniform, "Hey Blue!" he turned to face her, "There was no friend was there?" Flack shook his head and then smiled. Laura smiled and pushed the button for the elevator. Later that night, over dinner, Laura explained the situation between Danny and Lindsey.

"He really proposed to her like that?"

"Yeah!"

"No wonder she said no. She did say no right?"

"You know she did. I just told you that!" Laura said laughing and slapping him on the arm.

"So now he wants to ask her when we go to Maui?"

"Yes."

"Hm. If someone was going to ask you to marry them which way would you like them to ask you?" he asked her.

"I have no idea. I don't really have a certain way. If you know what I mean? I guess as long as he loved me I wouldn't care which way he asked me as long as it wasn't over pizza." She replied laughing. Flack didn't speak and Laura said, "Blue? What is it?"

"Oh nothing. Just thinkin'." He smiled at her and they carried on with their meal.

**A couple of days before Maui:**

"I can't believe we're goin to Maui in a couple of days! I'm so excited!" Laura said happily as she walked into the crime lab with Flack.

"I know. I can see that. So does you know, know that I know about you know?" Flack said.

"No and its going to stay that way." Laura said and pulled him into a kiss.

"Mmm. Can't wait until we get to Maui." Flack said once they finally pulled apart. Laura leaned back and said, "Why? You weren't before."

"Because it's just occurred to me that I've never seen my girlfriend in a bikini…" he grinned at her wolfishly. "What does it look like?"

"Who said I would be wearing a bikini?"

"Aww come on! Are you really telling me that you're _not_ going to wear a bikini? Its just us…" Laura just looked at him. "Fine. I'll just have to imagine you in one…" Flack suddenly looked off into the distance and then smiled. Laura just shook her head and left him to it.

"Come on Montana! We gotta go!"

"No! Not until you tell me what your up to!"

"I'm not up to anything!"

"So why do you want me to take my best dress to Maui with me?"

"Because I like it. That's why. Is that a crime now?" Danny asked annoyed. He had totally blown his cover. Lindsey was suspicious.

"Why are you being so secretive?" Lindsey demanded.

"I'm not being secretive! Montana we gotta go or we'll be late for work!"

"You mean _you'll _be late for work. I'm not in until later." Lindsey said smiling from the doorway. Danny just scowled at her and ran out of their apartment door. Danny barrelled into the break room and practically collided with Flack.

"Where's the fire?" he asked Danny laughing.

"Your not funny man. Lindsey was being…well she was being Lindsey." Before Flack could reply Laura walked in. She took one look at him and said, "What have you done?"

"What? What do you mean? What have I done? I haven't done anything!" Laura just looked at him and sighed. "Alright I _may_ and I repeat _may_ have asked Lindsey to take a certain dress to Maui with her."

"Why?"

"You know why. For you know." Danny said inclining his head.

"So by doing that you've made her suspicious. Well done!"

"Now…now Laura. There's no need for sarcasm." Danny practically jumped a mile when Flack spoke. He had completely forgotten that he was even in the room. Laura just frowned at Flack and then looked at her watch.

"Crap! I'm late."

"Late for what?" Flack asked her.

"Shopping with Stella. She has the next two days off. I'm meeting her now so I can go and buy my holiday clothes. See you guys later and Danny just don't speak from now until you know." Laura disappeared out of the break room when Flack said, "I wonder if she's getting a bikini…" Danny looked at him in surprise.

"What?"

"I hope she didn't…" Danny never got to finish his sentence when a ball of paper came through the break room door and hit Flack squarely on the head. "I guess she heard then." Danny said chuckling and left the break room.

**Downtown:**

"So now all we need to do is get out bikini's." Stella said excitedly. Laura groaned.

"Do I have to wear a bikini?"

"Yes. Now come on." Laura groaned again and followed Stella into another store. As they peered through the bikini's Laura saw a nice red one that tied at the back of her neck and had thin back straps.

"Oooh you should totally get that one." Stella said from behind her making Laura nearly have a heart attack.

"Don't do that Stella!" she screeched. She peered at it again and then said, "Does it come in blue?"

"Why do you want it in blue?"

"Because its my favourite colour." Laura said rolling her eyes. Still looking at the bikini in her hand she said, "Actually no I like it in red." She walked away before Stella could say anything and went to the counter to pay for it. An hour later both girls were thoroughly shopped out. They said goodbye and Laura went home to pack. As she was packing she heard a soft knocking on her bedroom door. Frowning she opened the door.

"Blue? What can I do for you?" Flack tried peering around the door.

"I was just wondering what you had bought. That was all." Laura looked at him. "Fine I was wondering if you had changed your mind about that bikini." He said with his sparkling.

"You'll have to wait and see won't you?" Laura said giggling. He groaned and pulled her into the living room. A couple of days later everyone was sitting on a plane heading for Maui.


	28. Asking

**Maui: two hours later:**

Getting off the plane the team headed towards baggage reclaim. For once they didn't have to wait very long before everyone had their belongings. They all turned their attention to Mac.

"Where to?" Danny asked him.

"Follow me. The villa has two double rooms and the rest single with two bathrooms and a pool. It also has a kitchen and a big spacious living room."

"Cool." Hawkes said as he clambered into the people carrier that they had rented for the time that they would be there. They soon arrived at the villa and everyone clambered out.

"Mac is there a downstairs bedroom?" Laura asked him.

"I don't know. Why don't you go and find out?" Mac said just as she disappeared into the villa. As she walked into the villa a wave of cool air hit her. _Ahhh!! That's nice._ She thought to herself. As she padded along she came across the big living room that had a couple of double couches and a couple of rugs on the floor. She carried on walking through when a door caught her eye just off the living room. Opening the door she peered inside and was pleased to see a single bed, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe and a little dresser with a mirror on the top. Smiling she walked in and sat on the bed. _This is my room for the next month!_ She thought to herself happily. Once everyone had picked their rooms they had all wondered into the living room when Danny said, "So what we doin for somethin' to eat?" looking around the room. Laura just rolled her eyes and muttered "You can take the boy out of the city but you can't take the city out of the boy." Danny scowled at her. "Why don't we go down by the beach for something to eat?"

"No Danny." Laura said without looking at him.

"Why not?" he demanded, surely she knew why he wanted to go down there.

"Because its only the first night. Everyone needs to chill. Besides it's like an hour down the road and we've done a lot of travelling today."

"She's right Danny. We'll go in a couple of days ok?"

"Fine. So what we doin for eatin'?" he asked again. Everyone just looked at him and stood up and went back to their rooms. He turned to Lindsey and said, "What did I say?"

**Two days later:**

"I can't take this anymore!" Flack said storming into Laura's room. She turned around and quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What's he done now?"

"He's driving everyone nuts! Unfortunately they don't know that he's just nervous. But I do! And he's driving me nuts! Did I already mention that?"

"Don't worry it'll all be over in the next few hours. Just put up with it."

"A few hours…" Flack suddenly stopped and tilted his head to the side as a grin spread over his features. Laura looked at her watch and said, "Wow. Took longer than I thought it would."

"That's…that's…"

"Yes it is."

"But…but…you said…"

"Yes I know."

"Wow." He said as he pulled her towards him and kissed her. They pulled apart and he was still grinning.

"You know the grinning thing is getting a little old. You'd think you'd never seen a woman in a bikini before."

"Well of course I have but I've never seen _you _in one. So this is kinda new for me." Laura rolled her eyes at him and grabbed her towel and covered herself up. Flack pouted.

"I was enjoyin' that view."

"Hm. I could see that. Now let me out so I can go and talk to Danny." Flack pouted again and moved from the doorway. Laura sauntered past him and went out by the pool.

Danny was pacing up and down by the edge of the pool when Laura came out.

"You'll wear a hole into the ground if you don't stop doing that." She muttered as she placed her towel on one of the deckchairs. He scowled at her. She walked up to him and grabbed a hold of his shoulders.

"You need to calm down. People are already getting suspicious that something is up."

"Like who?" he screeched.

"Flack, Stella and you know what she's like. Lindsey is probably suspicious as well. Now chill." As she said this she pushed him into the pool and got wet for all of her trouble. Danny resurfaced and scowled at her before clambering out of the pool. Everyone had heard the splash and made their way out to the pool as Danny clambered out. Muttering under his breath he pushed Laura into the pool.

"Child!" she shouted at him as he walked back into the villa to and get changed. She was laughing when Flack walked up to the side of the pool. "Could you pull me out?"

"Yeah." He held out his hand but as she was partly out of the water his jaw went slack. Seeing this she rolled her eyes and pulled him in with her and pulled herself out. For the rest of the day everyone lounged by the pool with Danny occasionally grumbling and checking his watch.

**Later that night:**

They had been having a wonderful meal, which Danny had hardly touched his.

"What's wrong Danny?" Lindsey asked him worriedly.

"Its nothing Montana. Can we go for a walk?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Excuse us." Danny and Lindsey left and Laura had a big grin on her face. The rest of the team looked at her but she didn't say anything.

**Down on the beach:**

"What is it Danny?" Danny looked around. A full moon was in the sky, which cast a beautiful glow on the beach. The water was gently lapping at the edge, making a soft lapping noise. After taking in his surroundings he looked at Lindsey. She was wearing a black and white dress that he loved as it showed every curve of her body. _Perfect_ he thought to himself. "Danny?" Lindsey said again touching his arm. He jumped.

"Sorry Lindsey. I know this is going to come out wrong but I wanted to try and give you the perfect way of asking but I don't know if it is but I'm going to try anyway." He said nervously. Looking around to make sure no one was around he dropped to one knee and looked Lindsey squarely in the eyes.

"Lindsey. Will you marry me?"


	29. Third times the charm

As the team was waiting on Danny and Lindsey, Laura was bouncing on the balls of her feet trying not to say anything.

"Will you stand still." Flack muttered. Laura just looked at him and rolled her eyes. The night was perfect for asking someone to marry them. She crossed her fingers. A couple of minutes later Danny and Lindsey came up from the beach. Not seeing happy faces Laura frowned. They all got into the people carrier and headed home in silence. Once they were home everyone said good night and went to bed. Laura was pacing in her room when there was a soft knock on the door. She hurried over to it and opened it not surprised to see Danny standing there.

"What happened?" she asked him gently.

"She said no…again." Danny walked into her room with his shoulders slumped and sat on her bed.

"Why? It was a perfect night for it."

"I know. She wouldn't tell me why. She just said no." Danny said sadly. Laura noticed a single tear roll down the side of his face. She walked over to him and sat next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. He turned his face into her shoulder and started to cry.

"Is it me?" he asked her.

"No. Its not you. I think she needs her head examining. I don't understand this is what she said was her perfect way."

"Does she even love me?"

"Yes she does. I just…I don't know." They sat there talking for a couple of hours when Laura said, "Why don't you stay in here tonight? I'll take the couch. Try and get some sleep and we'll handle this in the morning."

"Thanks Laura." Laura smiled at him and grabbed a blanket out of the wardrobe and a pillow and went out into the living room. Laura slept fitfully on the couch until she finally fell into a deep sleep.

**The following morning:**

Flack came bounding down the stairs and had just entered the living room when Danny emerged out of the bedroom off from the living room in nothing but his boxers. Danny stretched and yawned. Flack saw red and grabbed Danny by the arm spinning him around and hitting him.

"What the hell?" he muttered groggily. Seeing the look in Flack's eyes he turned to the door that he had just come out of and realisation hit him. "Its not what it looks like! She's not even in there. I swear man." Flack swung for him again and said, "LIKE HELL IT ISN'T!" The rest of the team had heard the commotion and had come downstairs to investigate. As Mac had entered the room he saw Flack hitting Danny for the second time that morning and immediately jumped in to separate the pair. He frog marched them into the kitchen and made them sit down.

"Now what's all this about?" he demanded.

"He started it!" Danny said pointing his finger at Flack. Flack just growled at him. Lindsey, Stella and Hawkes had followed the trio into the kitchen.

"HE came out of Laura's room dressed like that!" Flack said. Lindsey gasped. While this had been going on in the kitchen Laura had got up from the couch and wondered into her room to brush her teeth. When she came out Lindsey was waiting for her.

"Mornin' Lindsey." Seeing Lindsey look at her strangely she said, "What's up?"

"You bitch!" Lindsey screamed at her and pulled her by the hair into the kitchen. Lindsey pushed her into the counter and stood facing her. Confused Laura said, "What's goin' on?"

"Like you don't know!" Flack shouted from across the room.

"Your right I don't know. So could someone please tell my Lindsey has just pulled me into the kitchen _by my hair_!"

"You've been sleeping with Danny." Lindsey spat at her. Laura looked at her in shock.

"I've been doing what now?"

"You heard. You've been sleeping with Danny." Laura shook her head.

"No. I haven't. I have been sleeping with someone but believe me it ain't Danny. He's not my type. No offence Danny." Danny waved his hand dismissively as he held frozen peas to his lip.

"So what is your type?" Stella asked her amused.

"Tall, dark and blue eyed cops." Laura said without thinking. Stella raised an eyebrow. Seeing the looks on everyone's faces she said seriously, "Ok. What have I missed?" When no one answered Stella said, "Well when Flack came down for breakfast this morning he saw Danny leaving your room just in his boxers and he hit him." Suddenly Laura understood.

"This has been a giant misunderstanding. Yes Danny stayed in my room last night but no not with me. I was on the couch." She looked around the group. "I swear." She turned to Flack and said "Blue I wouldn't do that to you. Come on you know I wouldn't." Flack just looked at her disgusted and walked out. She followed him.

"Hey come on! I wouldn't do that because…" she stopped.

"Its too late! You already have!" he screamed at her.

"No I haven't!" she screeched at him. "And the reason why I know I wouldn't is because I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH TO DO THAT!" She shouted at him. Turning on her heel she went into her room leaving Flack standing there in total shock. The rest of the team was standing in the kitchen in a shocked silence. Danny broke the silence by walking up to Lindsey and saying, "And I love you to much to cheat on you…ever. She was my shoulder to cry on. Figuratively not literally." He smiled at her.

"Danny I'm so sorry I doubted you." Lindsey said and pulled him into a kiss.

"I love you Montana."

"I love you too cowboy."

For the rest of the day Laura didn't come out of her room except to get something to eat and drink. She avoided looking at everyone but it was Hawkes who had managed to get a look at her later that night. Her eyes were all puffy and red. He walked up to her gingerly while she was getting a drink of water.

"How long you been crying?" he asked her gently.

"Since this morning. I didn't think I could cry anymore. But apparently I can." She muttered. She looked around and realised that it was quiet. "Where is everyone?"

"Well…Flack, Mac, Stella, Danny and Lindsey have gone out for something to eat."

"Why didn't you go?" she asked.

"I wasn't feeling particularly hungry." Laura looked at him, "Mac felt that one of us should stay here to make sure that you were ok."

"You didn't have to do that. But I do appreciate it." Laura said smiling. She turned away and went back to her room. A couple of hours later everyone came back from their meal. Mac and Stella went to bed and Danny and Lindsey were sitting in the living room with the fire on playing scrabble. Flack and Hawkes were in the kitchen chatting.

"You know you should tell her how you feel and apologise to her." Hawkes told him.

"Yeah I know I just don't know…" Flack was interrupted by a giant YES coming from the living room.

Danny and Lindsey had been playing scrabble for around forty minutes when Lindsey had looked around and turned to Danny saying, "Ask me again." Danny had looked at her strangely.

"Ask you what?" Lindsey just looked at him. "Oh that. But this isn't the way you wanted to be asked." He said.

"I know. But I've been thinking about what Laura said to me. She said that she wouldn't care where she was asked as long as the person asking her loved her. I was selfish for making you go to all that trouble just to say no. I've come to realise that it doesn't matter where I am as long as its you who's doin' the askin'." She said to him smiling. Danny looked at the firelight dancing across her face and how it seemed to make her eyes sparkle. He got down on one knee and said, "Lindsey. Will you marry me?"

"YES!" Lindsey said happily. Danny jumped up and pulled her into a hug. They were still hugging when Flack and Hawkes came in from the kitchen.

"What's goin' on?" Flack asked. Danny looked at Lindsey and said into her ear, "I want to tell Laura first. She deserves to know." Lindsey nodded her head and took his hand and pulled him towards the bedroom. She knocked on the door.

"GO AWAY!" Laura shouted through the door.

"No. We need to tell you something." Danny said through the door. He leaned his head against the door and could hear quiet shuffling and then the door opened.

"What is it now? Coming to accuse me of something else that I haven't done?" she asked the pair bitterly.

"No. We have good news." Lindsey said.

"Well spit it out."

"We got engaged!" Danny said happily. Laura's expression didn't change when she said, "Congratulations. Now leave me alone." She shut the door before the pair could say anything. The pair turned around and told Hawkes and Flack. Hawkes was ecstatic and said, "About time! Congratulations!" Flack also had the same reaction. Lindsey sighed and said to him, "Go and tell her how you feel." Flack sighed and went to the door. He knocked and waited.

"GO AWAY!" He sighed and opened the door anyway. She turned to face the doorway. "What do you want?" she asked him angrily.

"I…uh…I've been thinking and I need to tell you something." Laura rolled over with her back now to him. "I…I…I love you." Laura just lay there until she turned around to face him. She slowly got up and walked over to him. She looked to the side and then slapped him hard across the face.

"OW! What was that for?"

"You ever accuse me of cheating on you again and I'll do more than slap you. You got that?" Flack nodded and Laura smiled adding, "Took you long enough." She pulled him into her room and gave him a passionate kiss as she shut the door as she did so. Hawkes, Lindsey and Danny just smiled and went to bed.

**A/N: Hope you will all be pleased about Danny and Lindsey. I would have done it in the previous chapter but I needed drama for this one. Thanks for all the reviews. Please keep em comin'.**


	30. Back to the Big Apple

It had been almost two weeks since Danny and Lindsey had gotten engaged and now Flack and Laura were practically inseparable when Danny turned to Lindsey and said, "Lets get married here. Right now." Lindsey looked at him surprise.

"Why? What about our families?"

"Everyone here _is_ my family."

"What about Louie?" she asked him. She felt the same way but she didn't want to let him know that just yet.

"He's still in a coma. Also I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind." Danny said getting impatient.

"Ok then. How are we going to get them all to dress up without tipping them off? And what about Laura? You know what she's like." Lindsey said excitedly.

"Don't worry about her. I'm sure Flack can keep her occupied." He said winking at Lindsey.

"Ok. I'm going to go shopping." Lindsey said grinning. Lindsey went out to find Mac to see if she could borrow the people carrier for the afternoon. Pretty soon she was off into town. Meanwhile Danny was fretting about what he was going to say to everyone especially Laura, who had the knack of knowing when people were lying. He heard laughing and turned around to see Laura smiling at Flack. She walked past Danny towards the kitchen when she stopped.

"What?"

"Uh…nothin'. Jeez do you always have to be so suspicious?" he asked her grumpily without looking at her.

"Sorry. Bad habit." She turned away from him and said, "Blue? Could you come here a sec?"

"Yeah." He walked past Danny and winked who just rolled his eyes. Once in the kitchen Laura turned to him and said, "Something's up with Danny and Lindsey."

"How do you do that?" he asked her alarmed. She looked at him with a head tilt. "Never mind. What do you thinks going on?"

"I think they're planning a wedding."

"Of course they are!"

"I mean I think they are going to get married here." Laura said impatiently.

"How can you possibly know that?"

"Watch and learn." Laura walked out of the kitchen and said to Danny, "Have you guys picked a date yet?" Danny would have passed out if he had gone any paler.

"Uh…no…not yet. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. What about venue?" she asked him. Danny started fiddling with his collar.

"No. Not yet."

"Ok then. You need a drink or somethin'?" she asked him.

"Water please." Laura nodded and walked back into the kitchen smiling.

"Ok. So maybe they are planning something but have you ever thought that maybe they want it to be a surprise?" Flack asked her.

"Yeah. Maybe. I'll not say anything. I promise."

"Good. Now come here." Flack said smiling at her. She walked up to him and just looked at him.

"What can I do for you?" she asked him cheekily.

"There are lots of things you can do for me. But for now you can just stand on your tiptoes and kiss me." Only too happy to oblige Laura stood on her tiptoes and kissed him passionately. When Lindsey came back from the town she had numerous packages with her when Danny came barrelling up to her.

"Danny what's the matter?" she asked him concerned.

"Laura. She knows. She has too. She was asking questions before." He said hurriedly.

"Like what?"

"Like if we had picked a date and venue." Lindsey started laughing before calming down Danny by saying, "Those are just normal questions. She has no idea about our idea to get married here. Relax." Lindsey carried on laughing as she walked up the stairs to their room.

**A week later:**

"Is everything ready?" Lindsey asked Danny quietly.

"Yes. We've somehow managed to get them all dressed up and not suspicious. Although I still say that Laura knows."

"Probably. But she hasn't said anything and she hasn't teased us mercilessly or asked if we need help which she would have done so maybe there's a chance that she has no idea. Anyways get out I need to change." Danny just gave her look and left her to get changed. They had decided to get married on the beach at sunset where Danny had proposed the second time. They had organised everything and Lindsey was currently getting changed at the restaurant where they were going to have their little reception. Danny was dressed in black pants and a semi-smart shirt, which could be used for any occasion except work. Danny walked down to the beach and looked at everyone who was standing around chatting. They all looked smart and Laura was wearing a dress and heels whereas Stella was wearing smart trousers and a halter neck top. He walked up to Laura and Flack who were chatting to Hawkes. Seeing him approach Flack said, "So come on man. Spill what's goin on? Why do we all have to be dressed up?" Danny shrugged his shoulders and didn't say anything except, "Come on man. When do we _ever_ get to dress up?"

"Fair enough man. Who's that?" he asked him pointing to a man that they didn't recognise. Danny just grinned and walked away. Laura stood up on her tiptoes and whispered, "That's the guy who's going to marry them." Flack just rolled his eyes and didn't say anything. A couple of minutes later Lindsey walked down to the beach wearing a simple white dress with her hair falling in soft curls around her face and over her shoulders. Everyone stopped talking to look at her. She looked absolutely stunning. She cleared her throat.

"Well as some of you might have guessed," she looked at Laura who just shrugged, "me and Danny are getting married today. Mac could I ask you a question please?" Mac nodded and walked over to Lindsey and Danny walked over to Flack and Hawkes.

"I can't decide which one of you I want as my best man so both of you are. No arguments." The three men walked over to the unknown man and stood in front of him. Danny first and then Flack and Hawkes on Danny's right hand side. Lindsey cleared her throat again and said, "Laura? Stella?" Laura and Stella walked up to Lindsey.

"What is it?" Stella asked smiling.

"I would like both of you to be my bridesmaids." Lindsey said looking at the pair.

"Love to Linds." Laura said smiling.

"Me to kiddo."

"Right lets get this show on the road." Lindsey said taking a deep breath. She hooked her left arm through Mac's right and Laura and Stella walked behind the pair. Once they had gotten to where the men stood the unknown male cleared his throat and began the marriage ceremony. By the time it was dark Danny and Lindsey were man and wife and the celebrations afterwards was well under way.

**A few days later:**

They had almost been there a month when Mac announced that they had to go home early.

"Why?" Danny moaned. He was enjoying his honeymoon.

"Because they've discovered a body with multiple gunshot wounds to the head, chest and abdomen. With both kneecaps blown out." Laura paled and ran to the bathroom while Flack just stood there looking very pale. Laura came back a couple of minutes later and held his hand.

"Danny and Lindsey you can stay here for the remainder of the holiday if you like. But unfortunately the rest of us are gonna have to leave." Mac said looking at the others. Laura nodded but didn't say anything. Flack looked at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked concerned. Laura had been throwing up for the last few days and he was starting to get worried. Laura smiled at him and said, "Don't worry Blue. Must have been something I ate. I'm fine I promise."

"Yeah. That's what you said last time and I nearly lost you."

"You didn't nearly lose me. So stop fretting." Flack just looked at her and dropped the conversation. Stella had been watching the pair when a thought struck her and her mouth fell open in surprise and then a smile crept across her features. Mac sidled up to her, "What have you noticed?" Stella turned her head and smiled some more.

"Oh nothing. But we may be hearing the sound of tiny feet in the next year." Mac looked at her in surprise.

"Your pregnant?"

"What? No I'm not pregnant."

"Lindsey?"

"No. Forget I said anything Mac. And just wait for the surprise."

**New York:**

It hadn't taken that long to get back to New York earlier than they had anticipated. Every hour Laura had gone to the bathroom to throw up but she just put it down to a bout of food poisoning as Flack looked at her worriedly. Laura had just waved her hand dismissively. Once landing in New York the team took off towards the crime lab to grab their kits and then off to the crime scene.

**A/N: Sorry about the patchiness of the chapter. **


	31. Somethings not right

They had just about finished processing the crime scene when Laura muttered, "That's not right."

"What's not right?" Flack asked causing Laura to jump out of her skin. She turned and frowned at him before turning back to the body.

"This isn't right." Flack squinted at what Laura was holding in plastic tweezers.

"It's a fibre. How is that not right?"

"The person that is doing this is too methodical to leave a fibre. It's a plant got to be." Before Flack could say anything Laura stood up and said, "I'm goin' back to the crime lab." When she got back to the lab Laura went into her office and promptly fell asleep.

**A couple of hours later:**

Mac walked into Laura's office and started to shake her awake.

"Laura. Wake up. Your results are in trace." Laura muttered something in her sleep and still didn't wake up. Getting annoyed Mac looked around the room and picked up a big book that was in her bookcase and dropped it on floor with a loud bang. Laura jumped awake at the noise.

"What's goin' on?" she asked groggily.

"Your results are in trace." Seeing how pale she looked Mac softened his tone and said, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Just that stomach bug I've got no big. Just came over really tired. Won't happen again. Right I'm off to trace." Laura stood up and walked out of her little office.

"Adam? What's the verdict on that fibre?" she asked him impatiently.

"Well you were right. It's not in the right place. Its very thin rope maybe used in curtains or something." Laura frowned. "What you thinking?"

"I think its transfer from a different crime scene."

"The one in Queens? And what makes you think its transfer?"

"No not the one in Queens. The one before that one. This crime scene just had blinds, no curtains." Before Adam could say anything Laura left his lab and went to find Mac. She found him in his office and knocked on the glass.

"Mac? Could I borrow your office for a couple of hours?"

"Why?"

"Because mine isn't big enough. I think we have a problem but it's just a theory. Need to sort it out before I tell you what it is."

"Ok." Mac walked out of his office and Laura went back to hers to pick up some files. Back in Mac's office Laura spread out all of the information that she had on the three cases. Something caught her attention. Frowning she looked at the crime scene photos from the first murder and noticed that there were curtains everywhere but none in Queens. Laura looked at the second murder and was looking at Michael's body when Flack came in.

"You ok?" he asked her. She jumped again and scowled at him.

"No. I'm not. I need to talk to Mac." She dropped the file onto his couch and walked out. She soon found him in one of the labs.

"Mac we got a problem."

"What is it?"

"There's a serial killer and a copycat."

"What do you mean?"

"Michael Evans wasn't killed by the same guy who killed the other two."

"How do you know?"

"His kneecaps weren't blown out. And there's a fibre from the first crime scene on the body of the third murder." Seeing his confused look she said, "The place where the third body was discovered had blinds. No curtains but the first crime scene had them everywhere. Michael Evans was dumped outside."

"Ok…so that means we're after two people and not one." Mac said slowly remembering the information that Laura was telling him. "Good work. Now head on home." He said to her smiling. Laura smiled wearily and went to get her coat when she bumped into Flack.

"Hey Blue. You ok?" she asked him.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just worried about you that's all. Mac told me you fell asleep today." He told her worriedly. Laura waved her hand dismissively.

"I'm fine. Just a little worn down today that's all. Nothing to worry about. You know it's amazing we get any work done around here. I'm heading home but I'm gonna take a walk through the park first. So I'll see you at home?"

"Yeah. Just be careful ok?" Laura nodded her head, gave him a swift kiss and left.

**In the park:**

Laura had been walking around the park thinking about the cases when she came across two men arguing.

"This is all your fault!" one of them shouted at the other one. Laura looked around and noticed that the pair were beginning to draw a crowd. Laura sighed and walked up to the men.

"Is everything alright here gentlemen?" she asked them annoyed.

"Fuck off lady this has nothing to do with you." The tallest shouted at her.

"Well actually it does. You see your making so much noise that you can get arrested for breach of the peace, so what's it gonna be? Am I gonna arrest you for breach of the peace or are you gonna leave and continue this little tiff in private?"

"You a cop?" the smallest asked her. Laura sighed. "Yes. Now do you wanna go quietly or in cuffs?" she asked them. The two men looked at each other and then started to advance on her. She rolled her eyes.

"You're making a big mistake." She told them.

"I don't think we are. Do you Mitch?" the short one asked the big one. The tall one shook his head.

"Ok. Have it your way. But don't say I didn't warn you." Within seconds the two men were trying to hit Laura when she managed to cuff one of them, she smirked slightly at the other man who hadn't expected to be in any kind of fight let alone with a woman. He tried to back away from Laura but she followed him and soon had him in cuffs as well. She frogmarched the men to the nearest mounted officer and told him to radio the station to take them to booking. Laura walked away leaving the men in the officers capable hands. She hadn't gone far when she suddenly had a thought and ran back to the lab.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I've reworked it from my original one. Hope everyone had a good new year. Thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming. ******


	32. Oblivious

**Back at the lab:**

Laura had been working in the labs none stop for a couple of hours when Mac knocked on her door.

"Laura?"

"What?" she snapped at him. Looking up when she didn't get an answer she saw a bemused Mac Taylor looking at her. "Sorry Mac. What's up?"

"I was just wondering how the case was going?"

"I've run into a dead end. I thought I had an idea of how we could get DNA but that was a bust. I have no idea what to do now. Part of me is thinking that we should wait for the next body to show up but I really don't want to do that." She sighed loudly and Mac said, "Go home. Get some sleep. Danny and Lindsey will be back in a couple of days and maybe they can look at it from a different perspective. Might give you some new ideas." Laura sighed again and said, "Your right. I'm going home to my boy. See what he's been doing since I left to walk through the park." She smiled at him and left her office.

**In the park:**

Laura walked around the park taking in all the scenery and taking a couple of deep breaths she allowed herself to forget all about the case that seemed to be plaguing her. Whether it was in her sleep or during the brief stops she had during the day when she was on other cases. She just couldn't stop thinking that she was missing something. As she walked through the park she decided to stop and pick some flowers for the kitchen table, she was practically home when she realised that she didn't like flowers. Keeping them in her hand she went up to the apartment and walked in. When she walked in a strange smell hit her, "What is that smell?" she asked Flack as he had just come out of the kitchen.

"What smell?" he asked walking towards her smiling. Laura pinched her nose, "Can't you smell that?"

"Nope. Listen I want to talk to you…" he stepped closer and Laura pulled away. "What?"

"Have you been near a burning building since I left?" she asked him. Flack paused and thought for a couple of seconds.

"No. But Hawkes had been down to autopsy with a burnt vic. Is that what you can smell?" Laura sniffed the air slightly.

"Yes…" she started to stare off into space. Flack walked towards her when she hadn't spoken for five minutes.

"Laura?" he said waving his hand in front of her. She snapped out of her daze and smiled at him, "I love you. You know that?" Flack smiled at her. He went to give her a kiss when she pulled away, "I probably would more if you went and had a shower and changed." Flack pouted and headed towards the bathroom. A couple of minutes later Laura was waiting for him to come out of the shower, "I have to go back to the lab."

"Why?" he asked. He really needed to talk to her and he kinda needed her to be in the room when he did it.

"Because I have yet another theory that I wanna quickly check." Laura replied softly. "But I promise I will make it up to you Blue." Flack grinned at her and she smiled, "See you later." She pecked him on the cheek and left.

**Back at the lab:**

Laura ran through the lab and headed towards Adam's little den as she called it. She ran in out of breath, "ADAM!" she looked around and couldn't see him. She ran into one of his assistants and said, "You seen Adam?" the boy shook his head and didn't say anything before leaving the lab. Groaning she went to sit in the break room and wait for him to come back or one of his more competent assistants.

New York Airport:

Danny looked at Lindsey, "Are you really sure we should have come home early?"

"Yes. I'm sure. We were getting bored."

"No Montana. _You_ were getting bored. Well we're home. May as well ring Flack or someone for a lift home." Danny replied pulling out his phone and dialled Flack.

"_Flack?_"

"Hey my man. Could you come and get me and Montana from the airport?" Danny asked his friend.

"_Yeah man. Which one?_"

"JFK."

"_Ok. Won't be long._" Danny hung up the phone and told Lindsey that Flack was on his way. Flack arrived in record time and Danny and Lindsey climbed into an SUV.

"What happened to your bike?" Danny asked him.

"I still have it. This is my folks' car." Seeing the puzzled look on Danny's face he said, "The bike is in the shop." Danny nodded and didn't say anything. Lindsey looked between the two men and smiled. They really were the best of friends, but something appeared to be bothering Flack and Danny was completely oblivious to this. _Just like many other things_ she thought to herself and giggled.

**Back at the lab:**

Laura was pacing in the break room when Adam came in.

"Where the Hell have you been?" she snapped at him. Adam held his hands up in surrender. He was about to speak when Laura stopped him, "Never mind. Have you looked over all the evidence from that serial we're working?" Adam nodded. She frowned, "Did any of it smell funny?" she asked him.

"No. Are you feeling ok?" he asked her. Laura looked at him in confusion,

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just thought I had another theory but never mind. See ya later Adam." Laura left the break room and headed back home. When she got back the apartment she saw that Flack had left. Groaning she sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Within moments she was asleep.

**Danny and Lindsey's apartment:**

"Flack you want something to drink?" Danny asked from the little kitchen.

"No. I'm good man. Listen I need to ask you something…" Danny came into the living room giving his friend a curious look.

"You're not goin to ask me to marry you are you?" he asked smiling. Flack gulped,

"No. Not you…" Danny's grin widened. Flack rolled his eyes as Lindsey came out of the bedroom.

"Everything ok in here?" she asked the pair. Flack looked like he was going to pass out and Danny was grinning as though he was up to something.

"Yeah. Everything's fine Lindsey. Look I'd better go. Catch you later." He was out the door before either of them could say anything. Lindsey turned to Danny and said,

"What was all that about?" Danny just carried on smiling but didn't elaborate. Instead he grabbed Lindsey around the waist and pulled her close,

"Now then Mrs Messer…" he stopped when she started to smile, "What?"

"Nothing I just like the sound of my new name." She stepped onto her tiptoes and kissed him. He pulled her closer and proceeded to guide her back towards their bedroom where they stayed for the rest of the day.

**A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update this story. I kinda had writers block again on this story as with all of them. But hopefully I'll be updating a bit more on this one. Thanks for all the reviews. Please keep them coming. **


	33. Friend From Home

Laura was back at the crime lab in no time. As she had driven there she was thinking back as to how Flack was behaving and the more she thought about it the more she realised he wasn't acting like himself. He had seemed distracted and she didn't like the thought of him being distracted. By the time she had actually parked her car at the crime lab she had convinced herself that he was going to break up with her. Clicking the call button on the elevator she felt her bottom lip quivering. Getting inside she pushed the number 35 and by the time she had arrived on the 35th floor she had tears running down her cheeks and she hurried to her office before anyone could see her. She stopped just short of the doorway when she realised she had a visitor. The visitor had long dark brown almost black hair and it was definitely a female. Pulling a face she quickly swiped at her cheeks and strode into her office demanding,

"Who the Hell are you and what are you doing in my office? Come to think of it how did you get in here and who let you in?" the woman laughed but didn't turn around. Laura just about stopped short of pulling her gun, she knew that laugh but she hadn't heard it in years.

"Some things never change do they Sheeps? Still as abrasive as ever I see." The woman said turning around. Before either of them could say anything Adam came in, slightly out of breath.

"You have a…a visitor…says she's…an old friend." Laura raised an eyebrow at the woman and then turned to face Adam.

"Yeah I see that Adam." Adam looked between the two women and left her office.

"He's cute." Laura rolled her eyes,

"Fletch you haven't changed. So what you doin' here? And why didn't you call me? I would have picked you up!" she smiled and walked towards her friend and gave her a hug. Fletch was giggling as she let go of her friend but stopped when she saw the state of her face,

"So you want to tell me why you've been crying?" Laura scowled at her,

"No…at least not yet. It's a drop it and leave it alone thing. Actually I'm pleased you're here. Means I can sort my head out." Fletch nodded at her not quite believing her friend.

"So when do I get to see your flat then? I did after all, come all this way." Fletch smiled at her friend again as she rolled her eyes.

"Its called an apartment and I guess we can go now. I only came to check something anyways but it can wait. Let's go." The pair headed out of her office and with Laura casting quick glances around, she really wanted out of the lab, she tapped her foot in annoyance as the elevator seemed to be taking ages just to piss her off.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Fletch asked her, finally getting annoyed with her friends obvious annoyance. At least she knew why _she_ was annoyed but she had no idea about her friend.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just wanna get out of here." she froze when she heard the unmistakable sound of Danny's voice. She groaned.

"Hey Turner! What are you doin' here?" he asked in his thick New York accent, "And who is this?" Fletch turned around and smiled at Danny and Lindsey.

"I could ask you the same thing, ain't you meant to be in Maui? And this is Donna Fletcher she's my best friend from home. Did you have a good honeymoon?" she asked the pair as Fletch raised an eyebrow at Laura's accent.

"Nice to meet you Donna." Lindsey replied holding out her for Donna to shake it. Taking it Donna smiled,

"Nice to meet you too. Please call me Fletch everyone does." Lindsey nodded and Danny just grinned,

"So how long you two been friends?" he asked Fletch.

"Since middle school." Danny grinned even more, Laura looked at him suspiciously.

"What are you up to Danny?" she questioned him. Danny tried and failed to look innocent.

"Nothin'. So Fletch tell me you got any stories about her?" Fletch grinned as she penny dropped as to what Danny was up to.

"Just stories from school…"

"They're the best kind. We're goin' to O'Malley's and you're comin' with us." He said pulling Fletch towards the elevator before Laura could stop him. She turned to Lindsey,

"What happened to Barney's?"

"Nothin' we just thought we'd try out the new place. We've already invited everyone."

"Flack goin'?" Laura asked not really wanting to know the answer. Lindsey looked at her in confusion,

"Didn't he tell you?" Laura shook her head "Yeah we invited him earlier. We were getting bored at home." Laura offered her a small smile but her heart really wasn't in it. Lindsey nodded they stepped into the second elevator, "We'd better go and rescue your friend from Danny." Laura nodded and groaned,

"God only knows what she's telling him." Once they were downstairs they saw Danny laughing and Fletch was also laughing,

"What have you been telling him?" she demanded as they approached the pair.

"Sheepy! We were just talkin' about you." Danny replied through his laughter. Laura scowled at Fletch,

"No shit. What have you told him?" she demanded again this time giving her the look but Fletch just carried on looking at Laura as well. Finally Laura gave up with a roll of her eyes. Lindsey's mouth fell open in shock as Laura stalked out of the building with Danny following her out calling her Sheepy as he did so, this just wasn't turning out to be her day at all!

"What?" Fletch asked the small woman.

"That's never happened before. I mean she's renowned for it." Lindsey replied still in shock.

"What are you on about? You mean the stare?" Lindsey nodded, "Yeah no one was very good at getting away from that look even when we were in school. I even called it The Look." Fletch replied laughing.

"But you have."

"Yeah and believe me it took years of practise. Besides she already knows everything about me so it doesn't really work on me. She can also tell when I'm lying without giving me that look so you know…" Fletch trailed off as they joined Laura and Danny. As they approached Fletch could tell from the way Laura was holding her shoulders and kicking the ground that she was getting more and more annoyed with Danny. Her right hand kept reaching for her gun on her right hip and then stopping just short of pulling it out. Seeing what she was doing Lindsey scowled,

"Come on Cowboy. Stop it lets just go to the bar and get some drinks." She hooked her arm through Danny's and started to walk towards the bar.

**O'Malley's:**

By the time they had gotten there it was already pretty busy but they managed to find an empty booth at the back. Sliding along the green leather Fletch and Laura were sitting around the back with Danny next to Fletch and Lindsey next to Laura. Which suited Laura just fine for when Flack came in. They had been there about an hour when Laura finally snapped,

"Ok enough with the stories! This trip down memory lane ain't exactly fun for me besides if you keep calling me Sheepy everyone isn't goin' to have a clue what you're on about." Danny seemed to consider this for a second,

"She's right. Just tell them when everyone else gets here." he looked at his watch, "Which should be any second." Laura groaned and slapped her palm onto her forehead.

"Why did I say anything?" she muttered. She was clearly out of her depth with her friend there giving her other friends' ammunition to use against her.

"So what can I get everyone?" a voice asked from the foot of the table and looked up to see Flack looking at her in confusion. When he had approached he saw that Laura had her head down on the table and that she was sitting next to a woman he didn't recognise. Figuring someone would tell him he offered to get the drinks. Laura thought about this for a second,

"Gin and lemonade." She looked between Fletch and Danny and then said, "Actually make it a double. It's goin' to be a long night." Then she put her head down again, wanting to hit it off the table repeatedly. Flack nodded but didn't say anything.

"Where are your manners Sheepy?" Fletch asked her and Laura groaned, without lifting her head up she pointed to the bottom of the table and said, "Fletch that's Don Flack Jnr, Flack this is Fletch my best friend from home." Flack nodded a greeting,

"Nice to meet you. What would you like?"

"Archers and lemonade please." Flack nodded and looked at Danny,

"You wanna help me out here?" Danny nodded and slid out of the booth. Once she was sure they were gone Laura picked her head up and turned to her friend,

"Please, please stop with the stories. I am begging you!"

"But they're funny and I don't want to disappoint Danny and all your other friends who I haven't even met yet." Fletch replied, she knew something was going on with Laura and Flack and she would get to the bottom of why she had been crying earlier.

"Are you tryin' to make me die of embarrassment?" Laura demanded.

"Well no I obviously don't want you to die but I am enjoying watching you squirm." Fletch said with a grin. Laura rolled her eyes and sat back scowling at her friend when Flack and Danny came back and gave them their drinks. Taking hers Laura drank hers in three big gulps. The other four looking at her in surprise,

"What?" she asked, "I was thirsty." They shook their heads at her and Danny was just about to ask Fletch for another story when the others appeared. Once the introductions were made and they had bought their drinks Danny turned to Fletch with a big grin on his face,

"So come on. Give us another story about Sheepy over there." Fletch grinned and thought about it for a second,

"Well there is this one time she fell over thin air." Everyone looked at her disbelief, "No its true. We were walking through the ground floor of the high school and she looked at me and said, 'I'm going to fall over.' Naturally I didn't believe her and carried on walking. One second she was there the next she was on the floor looking very confused. 'I told you I was going to fall over!' she said and I just stood there laughing as she scowled at me, 'Help me up' she said but I couldn't move for laughing so she tried to help herself up and no sooner had she gotten up than she was back on the floor in a heap. To this day I still don't know why she fell over." Fletch said laughing at the memory.

"My leg gave way." Laura muttered. Fletch stopped laughing for a second and thought about this for a second,

"Huh. I always thought you had tripped over. You know how much of a klutz you are."

"Yeah I guess." Laura muttered. She looked at the drink in her hand; she had barely touched this one as she was thinking of all the ways that Flack was going to break up with her.

"Any others?" Stella asked her.

"Loads. It depends on what you wanna know I guess." Fletch replied.

"Well you and Danny keep calling her Sheepy. What does that mean?" Fletch grinned and looked at Laura,

"Do you wanna tell it or do you want me to?" Laura just gave her a look and went back to looking at her drink. "Ok I will. Well there was this cartoon character called Shaun the Sheep when we were kids and when she was twelve she wanted the Shaun the Sheep backpack for Christmas. So she got this backpack and in her infinite wisdom she decided to take it to school with her with her PE kit in it. Well as soon as she stepped onto the bus all of the farmers sons started to tease her. Well the more she reacted to it the more they called her it. Then one day by mistake she answered to it and ever since everyone called her it. Even the teachers started to call her it. Half the people in our year at school didn't even know her real name and the other half thought Laura Turner and Sheepy were two completely different people."

"So why?" Flack asked not entirely sure he was getting it.

"They thought I had killed a sheep, skinned it, made it into a bag and stuffed my PE kit in it." Laura ground out through her teeth. She really hated that story. They nodded trying to hide their laughter,

"So how did you two become friends?" Adam asked Fletch.

"Oh I like this story. Well she was friends with this girl called Emily and it was raining one dinnertime"

"As per usual."

"and I was in detention"

"As per usual."

"anyways the teachers had turned the computers on for us, except for me I was doing my homework that I hadn't done the night before, and Emily was really annoying her" Fletch carried on as if Laura hadn't even spoken.

"A bit like your doin' now." Laura interrupted again.

"and she finally snapped and told her to 'Fuck off!' before storming out of the room to go somewhere else. This naturally got my curiosity up and I just had to go and talk to her. So I got up and followed her and introduced myself. The rest as they say is ancient history." Fletch smiled at the end of the story. Laura sighed and looked at her watch, they had been there practically all night asking Fletch for stories. All of her friends seemed to like Fletch and Laura was glad but she wasn't really in the mood to be walking down memory lane. "Do you lot have any stories about her that I don't know?" Fletch asked them and Laura fixed them all with a glare as if daring them to answer.

"Loads but maybe now is not the time." Danny replied getting the hint.

"He's right. Now is not the time, ain't you tired mate?" Laura asked Fletch.

"I am a little actually."

"Lets go home. You can sleep and I'll take you sightseeing tomorrow." They slid out of the booth and Fletch could barely stand upright. They said their goodbyes and left.

**Laura's apartment:**

Opening the door to her apartment Laura navigated Fletch around the cardboard boxes and then opened another door before dumping her unceremoniously onto the spare bed.

"Night mate. See you in the morning." Laura heard a soft muttering before closing the door and walking around the boxes she headed towards her room and decided to take a shower. Once in the shower Laura let all of her emotions out and she started to sob, after five minutes she pulled herself together, got washed and then pulled on her pj's and climbed into bed trying her hardest not to think about tomorrow. She couldn't believe how so much could change in the course of one day. That night she cried herself softly to sleep.

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update this story. The stories Fletch tells actually happened to me and they are anything but funny lol. With a bit of luck I'll be updating this story more often. Please R & R they are all welcome and thank you very much for sticking with me.**


	34. Conversations

The first thing Laura heard was Meatloaf belting out of her CD player and then Fletch attempting to keep up with it and singing very badly. Laura groaned she didn't want to be around anybody she just wanted to be by herself. She rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep but no sooner had she tried than there was a knock on her door,

"Come on mate time to get up!"

"Get lost! I'm sleeping. What time is it anyways?" she demanded through the covers towards the door.

"Its 9am and we have a lot to do." Laura groaned and threw the covers away and stalked towards the door.

"What do you mean _lots_ to do?" she asked her friend grumpily as she sidestepped a box. She heard Fletch sigh as she headed into her typical New York kitchen and fell into the breakfast stool. Fletch stepped into her eye line,

"Well for starters you need to unpack all this junk." Laura raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything, "I mean you've been here for just over a year and you haven't unpacked! I mean what's all that about?" she demanded with her hands on her hips.

"I'm not you! I'm not the neat freak remember. Besides I haven't been here all year or however long I've been here for."

"Explain!"

"I lived in Washington for a couple of months. It was no big whoop. Besides I _like_ living out of these boxes. Most of the stuff that I use all the time is actually not sitting in various boxes. Now stop interrogating me. What else are we doin' today?" Fletch looked over her friend for a couple of minutes. Something was definitely up.

"Well you promised me sightseeing…"

"I only said that so we could leave. You don't even _like_ sightseeing."

"That's true. So what are we gonna do?"

"We could have a picnic in the Park. But I have to ring Mac first. Excuse me." Laura stood up and went back into her bedroom calling over her shoulder, "Leave it!" Fletch looked towards the door that her friend had stepped through. _How did she know I was looking in that box?_ She thought to herself. Then she smiled realising she already knew the answer. After five minutes she came out of her bedroom,

"Right I've got a couple of days. Now lets get that picnic sorted." Fletch smiled and started on getting things ready. After a couple of minutes she looked at her friend,

"You gonna go like that?" Laura looked down at herself and groaned and then glowered at her friend before leaving to go back into her room to change. Ten minutes later she was coming out of her bedroom in her jeans and a t-shirt.

**Four hours later:**

They had talked about everything and nothing. Throughout the day Fletch had tried to get out of her friend what was wrong but every time she tried her friend changed the subject and shut down. She could practically see the walls going up around her friends heart. She knew it was a defence mechanism but she couldn't understand why she was feeling that way. They had been back at the apartment for a couple of hours when Laura's phone started to ring,

"Could you get that?" Laura shouted through from her room. Fletch wondered over and picked it up,

"Hello?"

"_Laura?_" a male voice asked.

"No this is Fletch. Who is this?"

"_Its Flack. Is she about?_" Fletch grinned at his use of Englishness.

"She's just changing. Again. Can I take a message?"

"_No that's alright. Thanks._"

"No problem." Fletch hung up the phone just as Laura came out.

"Who was it?"

"Flack." Fletch watched her friend closely but she had completely shut down and there was no reaction. "So who is he?" Laura looked at her in confusion,

"What do you mean 'who is he?' You met him last night. He's a cop that I work with." Fletch shook her head,

"Yeah I know that. But what is he to _you_?"

"He's nothing to me." Laura answered as she sank into the couch.

"Liar. Is he the reason why all these boxes are still, you know, full?" Laura sent her a withering glare but didn't reply. "You know I will get it out of you. One way or another."

"Why are you so interested?" Laura asked suddenly suspicious. "I mean why are you here? Really?" she added standing up.

"I came to see my best friend." Fletch replied without giving her eye contact.

"And you say I can't lie. You never wanted me to leave England and the fact that I did it behind your back, to say that you were pissed is an understatement. So why are you here _really_?" Fletch blushed.

"I should have been more supportive and I'm sorry." Laura raised an eyebrow,

"You came all this way to say you're sorry? I don't think so."

"I saw Michael a few weeks ago. He told me what happened with you two." Laura glowered at her, "He didn't last long here. He left a few months after you two broke up." Laura snorted, "But you seem to have made it. You have lots of friends, who considering what they do, don't know a lot about you."

"I've changed."

"Yeah I can see that. So that's when I decided to look you up. Actually make sure you're ok as opposed to you know miserable. The jury's still out on whether or not you're happy. Anyways Michael said that he missed you and that he made a mistake of breaking up with you." Laura glowered at her again. "Kept asking me lots of questions about you that I just couldn't answer." Laura walked towards her bedroom door and then shut it with a snap. A few minutes later she came back out with a duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Where are you going?" Fletch asked her in confusion.

"I need some space. I'll only be gone a few days. I'm actually goin' back to work so you probably wouldn't see me anyway."

"Well that's definitely new. You never used to walk away from a fight. In fact you used to fight your corner even if you were wrong." Laura didn't say anything and just walked out of her apartment.

**Three days later:**

Laura walked past the break room and stopped when she heard a female laughing. Stopping she turned back around and looked through the glass. Fletch was there talking to Adam and laughing at his jokes. Groaning she walked in and stood there with her arms crossed,

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. It's been a few days and we need to finish our conversation that you so rudely walked out on. Then I saw Adam and we got talking."

"You know something? You've got too much to say for yourself. Now don't start nothin' that you _know_ you're not gonna finish." Fletch stood up,

"What's that meant to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means. Now say goodbye to Adam and we'll finish that conversation later when I get home." Fletch turned to Adam and flashed him a flirty grin,

"Bye Adam." Adam offered her a little wave and she sauntered out of the break room.

"When will you be home?"

"Not sure." Fletch gave a little grin and Laura watched her get into the elevator. When she was sure it was down far enough she pushed the button to call for the next available car. She was still waiting when Danny called out,

"Sheepy! We've got a case." She tapped her foot and as the elevator chimed just as Danny joined her when the door opened she grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him backwards with her arm against his throat until his back hit the back of the car.

"Stop calling me that! Do you understand me?" she grit out through her teeth. Danny nodded since she was effectively cutting off his oxygen. She lowered her arm and straightened up his shirt, "Now what case is it?"


End file.
